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AGRICULTURAL 

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Source. 


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MOW 

TO 

MAKE 

POULTRY 

KEEPING 

FAY 

F&2> 


INTRODUCTORY 


Many  times  every  year  those  who  have  done  business  with  me  from  year 
to  year  have  asked  why  I  did  not  write  a  book  telling  how  to  make  poultry  as 
profitable  as  possible.  I  have  always  felt  that  I  should  wait  to  do  this  until  1 
had  learned  more  of  the  secrets  of  success  with  poultry,  but  I  find  that  if  I 
were  to  wait  until  I  knew  everything  that  might  be  learned  I  would  never  get 
a  book  on  the  subject  written. 

After  giving  the  matter  considerable  thought  I  concluded  that  I  might  be 
able  to  write  a  little  book  telling  how  to  make  money  out  of  poultry  and  how  to 
avoid  the  mistakes  which  wreck  the  hopes  of  the  beginner  so  often. 

With  this  in  view  I  present  in  this  little  volume  in  its  most  condensed  form 
what  T  have  learned  the  many  years  that  I  have  been  breeding  high-class 
poultry.  Some  of  the  methods  which  I  give  are  my  own  and  have  never  before 
been  published;  other  methods  are  those  which  I  did  not  originate  but  which 
I  have  used  with  benefit. 

The  object  in  writing  this  book  has  been  to  set  down  in  the  plainest  and 
most  easily  understood  language  every  essential  fact  which  might  help  the 
beginner  to  get  the  greatest  possible  profits  from  his  poultry. 

I  I  believe  I  may  say  truly  that  with  this  book  as  a  guide  any  one  interested 
in  poultry  will  be  able  to  conduct  the  poultry  business   with   success. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  do  fine  writing  but  to  write  so  plainly  that  any 
one  who  can  read  can  understand  and  I  offer  this  book  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
help  the  beginner  over  hard  places  and  the  expert  poultryman  in  some  of  the 
difficulties  he  meets  with. 

I  have  been  a  poultry  breeder  since  my  boyhood  and  this  book  contains 
the   things   I   have   learned   by  actual,  practical   experience   in   the   poultry  yard. 

FKANK     FOY. 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  October,  1910. 


35170 


Chapter  I 

THE   PROFITS   OF   POULTRY   KEEPING. 


When  considering  a  start  in  a  new  and  unfamiliar  business  the  wise  man 
counts  the  cost  as  well  as  he  is  able,  seeking  the  experience  of  others  as  a  basis 
from  which  to  make  his  estimates. 

The  poultry-breeder  as  a  rule  begins  the  poultry  business  because  he  has 
a  natural  liking  for  fowls.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  thousands  of  people  who 
care  very  little  about  other  classes  of  live  stock  are  fond  of  poultry.  They  like 
to  have  domestic  fowls  about  them,  to  watch  them  grow  and  develop  and  to 
minister  to  their   needs. 

Thousands  of  people  engaged  in  every  line  of  business  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  they  can  own  a  plot  of  ground  and  raise  chickens  as  a  business  or 
as  a  side  line  with  their  regular  occupation. 

It  is  very  easy  to  overdo  the  matter  of  estimating  the  profits  from  poultry. 
If  one  is  planning  to  keep  only  a  dozen  or  twenty  or  even  100  fowls  the  element 
of  time  need  hardly  be  counted.  Many  a  professional  or  office  man  or  shop 
operative  keeps  as  many  as  100  fowls  and  gives  them  the  best  care  while  attend- 
ing ^o  some  regular,  money-earning  work  of  some  other  kind.  It  is  only  when 
the  nock  is  to  be  above  100  in  number  that  time  needs  to  be  counted  as  part 
of  the  cost  of  keeping  the  flock. 

This  raises  the  question  of  how  many  fowls  can  one  man  attend  to.  This 
must  be  answered  in  various  ways  as  we  must  consider  the  climate  and  the 
conveniences  around  the  poultry  house.  It  is  generally  estimated  that  one  man 
can  care  for  1000  fowls  without  working  too  hard,  but  there  are  cases,  where 
one  man  does  much  more  than  this  because  every  convenience  for  making 
the  work  as  light  as  possible  has  been  installed. 

As  an  example  of  what  one  young  man  can  do  and  is  actually  doing  every 
day  on  a  poultry  farm  there  comes  to  mind  a  young  man  in  Virginia  who  has 
built  up  a  big  poultry  business  without  outside  help  and  every  year  adds  to  the 
number  of  his  fowls,  doing  all  the  work  without  help. 

This  young  man  keeps  1400  hens  and  gives  them  good  care,  marketing  the 
eggs  and  poultry  himself  and  does  not  think  he  is  overworked.  He  has  his 
poultry  house  arranged  so  he  can  take  the  feed  to  his  hens  in  a  truck  which 
runs  on  a  miniature  railway.  He  feeds  entirely  by  the  hopper  method  and 
gives  his  hens  free  range. 

Here  is  his  account  for  last  year: 

Wheat,    900    bushels    at    $1.10    $  990 

Corn,  800  bushels  at  75  cents 600 

Oats,  600  bushels  at  55  cents 330 

Oyster  shells,  8000  pounds  at  $10  per  ton 40 

Mica  grit,  2000  pounds  at  $14  per  ton 40 

Beef  scap,  6000  pounds  at  3  cents  per  pound 180 

Egg  cases,  300    30 

Coal  oil  and  gasoline .  40 

Total    expense     $2,224 

Receipts. 

528    cases    eggs     $4,752 

1,100   hens    sold    617 

1,200   cockerels   sold    311 

Total    receipts    $5,680 

The  eggs  are  sold  at  30  cents  per  dozen  in  Washington,  D.  C.  The  price 
received  for  the  hens  and  surplus  cockerels  shows  that  they  were  all  sold  at 
market  prices,  so  this  account  shows  very  fairly  what  one  young  man   is   doing 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


GOLDEN  WYANDOTTES. 


The  Golden  Wyandottes  are  an  exact  counterpart  of  the  White  and 
Silver  Laced,  the  only  difference  being  in  color.  They  are  fine  layers  the 
year  rround  if  properly  eared  for.  The  colos-  in  the  Golden  Wyandotte  is 
a  golden  bay  in  place  of  the  white  lacing  in  the  Silver  Laced  Wyandottes. 
This  breed  has  many  friends,  and  is  a  good  variety  for  anyone  to  breed  who 
wants  beautiful  fowls.  There  are  very  few  breeds  that  will  breed  as  true 
to  color  as  the  Golden  Wyandottes.  They  make  good  mothers  and  good  sit- 
ters, but  are  not  persistently  broody.  Chicks  are  quite  hardy  and  mature 
early.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  8^  pounds,  cockerel  7% 
pounds,  hen  6%  pounds,  pullet  5%  pounds. 


in  the  poultry  business.  For  his  work  with  1,400  hens  he  receives  in  a  year 
a  profit  of  $3,456.  This  is  a  salary  that  must  be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  him 
and  shows  what  may  be  done  by  any  one  who  gives  his  hens  proper  attention. 
The  hens  in  this  flock  averaged  136  eggs  each,  which  shows  that  they  are 
fairly  good  layers  and  that  the  average  good  hen  from  a  bred-to-lay  strain  will 
bring  its  owner  a  profit  of  more  than  $2  each. 

The  next  question  that  comes  up  is  concerning  the  acreage  necessary  to  keep 
a  flock  of  a  given  size.  This  is  a  matter  on  which  there  is  much  disagreement. 
I  know  of  poultrymen  who  keep  as  high  as  250  of  the  smaller  breeds  on  an 
acre  and  maintain  them  in  good  health  and  vigor.  I  know  of  one  particular 
case  where  nearly  500  hens  are  kept  in  good  shape  on  an  acre.  The  land  in 
this  case  is  well  shaded  and  lies  so  water  never  stands  on  it.  The  hens  are 
given  plenty  of  green  feed  and  pure  water  and  come  through  the  season  in 
fine  shape. 

As  a  rule  it  is  probably  best  to  keep  about  200  hens  to  the  acre  where 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  them  confined,  although  it  is  only  fair  to  state  that  more 
than  this  number  may  be  kept  without  crowding. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


A  noted  poultryman  in  an  eastern  state  keeps  about  2,000  hens,  giving 
them  free  range.  They  have  perfect  liberty  to  wander  over  200  acres  of  land 
if  they  want  to,  yet  he  says  he  rarely  finds  a  hen  off  the  ten  acres  that  surround 
the  poultry  houses.  A  properly  fed  hen  will  not  wander  very  far  from  home. 
She  ne-.^ds  out  of  door  exercise  because  both  the  exercise  and  the  direct  sunshine 
are  good  for  her,  but  she  will  not  go  very  far  from  nest  and  perch  if  she  has 
all  her  requirements  in  the  way  of  feed  supplied.  This  is  especially  true  where 
the  hopper  system  of  feeding,  which  is  described  in  another  place  in  this 
book,  is  followed. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  prices  for  feed  named  above  is  quite  above  the 
figures  that  would  obtain  in  Iowa  or  any  other  western  state.  No  account  is 
made  for  green  feed  because  the  hens  find  what  they  need  in  the  range  they 
have  to  roam  over,  but  wheat  at  $1.10,  oats  at  55  cents  and  corn  at  75  cents 
will  seem  very  high  to  the  poultryman  of  the  mid-west.  The  price  received 
for  eggs  is  probably  somewhat  higher  than  the  average  that  could  be  obtained 
in  the  mid-west,  but  this  is  balanced  by  the  high  cost  of  feed,  so  the  profits 
would  be  about  the  same  in  either  place.  An  income  of  above  $2.50,  average, 
from  1400  hens  shows  that  the  poult-y  business  is  the  most  profitable  that  can 
be  taken  up.  The  account  of  sales  of  hens  shows  that  they  were  worth  about 
56  cents  each.  This  means  that  each  hen  produced  more  than  four  times  her 
own  value  in  a  year. 

These  figures  could  be  duplicated  in  any  state  in  the  Union  and  I  do  not 
consider  them  at  all  out  of  the  way.  I  give  them  because  they  are  the  figures 
of  a  disinterested  party,  made  up  from  the  items  in  a  cash  book  and  so  well 
authenticated  that  they  can  not  be  disputed. 

I  could  give  numerous  instances  taken  from  letters  from  my  customers 
to  show  that  where  the  selling  of  breeding  stock  and  eggs  for  hatching  is 
combined  the  figures  show  larger  returns  per  hen  than  is  given  in  the  case 
I  have  given. 

If  the  beginner  starts  in  the  business  with  high-class  hens  from  good, 
bred-to-lay  strains  he  will  find  that  the  demand  for  fowls  for  breeding  and 
eggs  for  hatching  will  take  a  large  part  of  his  surplus  stock  at  prices  so  much 
above  the  market  price  that  his  average  profit  from  each  hen  will  be  doubled. 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  where  the  fancy  and  utility  sides  are  both  kept 
in  view  by  the  poultryman  that  a  profit  of  $5  for  each  hen  is  easily  reached, 
and  that  100  hens  kept  on  a  town  lot  may  be  made  to  bring  their  owner  a  clear 
profit  of  $500  in  a  year.  As  an  example  of  what  may  be  done  where  the  fancy 
poultry  business  is  made  a  specialty  I  know  of  a  young  man  in  Pennsylvania 
who  from  four  town  lots  sold  poultry  and  eggs  to  the  value  of  $1200  in  one 
year.  He  began  by  purchasing  good  stock,  bred  it  with  care,  began  to  show 
at  fairs  and  poultry  shows  and  win  prizes  and  in  the  end  built  up  such  a  reputa- 
tion that  his  income  from  his  little  plot  of  land,  100x125  feet,  was  larger  than 
that  of  many  farmers  owning  100  acres  of  land  or  of  many  business  men  with 
$10,000  invested  in  merchandise. 

All  over  the  country  on  little  farms,  on  town  lots  and  out  on  the  larger 
farms  may  be  found  poultry-keepers  who  make  a  good  living  out  of  keeping 
poultry  and  do  not  work  themselves  into  a  premature  old  age  before  they  have 
reached  middle  life.  Poultry-keeping  is  pleasant,  profitable  and  honorable. 
Every  poultry-keeper  should  be  proud  of  his  business  for  it  is  among  the  most 
important  of  our  rural  industries  and  grows  to  be  of  greater  importance  all 
the   time. 


Chapter  II 

THE    ADVANTAGES    OF    POULTRY-KEEPING. 


I  think  it  best  to  say  something  about  the  advantages  of  the  poultry  business 
because  this  book  will  no  doubt  reach  many  people  who  have  not  yet  fully  made 
up  their  minds  as  to  the  advisability  of  taking  up  poultry  raising  as  a  business 
or  as  a  part  of  their  business. 

I  want  to  say  most  emphatically  that  I  am  a  thorough  believer  in  the 
business  of  raising  and  selling  poultry  for  the  very  good  reason  that  whatever 
I  have  in  the  way  of  houses,  lands   or  money  has  been  made   by  breeding   and 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


HOUDANS. 


The  Houdan  is  the  leading  race  of  France,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem 
as  a  table  fowl.  It  was  introduced  into  this  country  in  the  early  '60  's.  It 
is  quick  to  grow,  making  broilers  at  an  early  age.  Pullets  lay  early,  eggs 
generally  prove  very  fertile,  nearly  every  egg  producing  a  chick  under  fav- 
orable conditions.  Hens  three  to  five  years  old  lay  as  well  as  when  they 
are  young.  Eggs  are  large  and  pure  white.  They  bear  confinement  well 
and  are  very  contented  in  restricted  quarters.  Their  flesh  is  of  perfect 
quality,  very  fine  flavored,  and  in  dressing  there  is  a  small  percentage  of 
waste,  being  only  about  1-8  part.  They  are  hardy  of  constitution,  adapt- 
ing themselves  to  all  kinds  of  climates  and  conditions,  small  eaters  and  good 
winter  layers,  if  given  any  kind  of  care  and  attention.  Cock  7  pounds,  cock- 
e  el  6  pounds-,  hen  6  pounds,  pullet  5  pounds. 


selling  poultry.  The  reader  will  pardon  me  for  referring  to  my  personal  affairs 
but  I  want  to  say  by  way  of  explanation  that  I  began  life  with  as  near  nothing 
but  my  two-  hands  and  my  desire  to  succeed  as  any  other  man  in  the  country. 
I  had  a  natural  fondness  for  poultry  but  I  had  no  opportunity  to  make  any  sort 
of  a  start  until  I  earned  the  money  myself.  I  worked  for  other  poultrymen, 
invented  an  incubator  and  finally  saved  enough  to  make  a  modest  start.  From 
the  beginning  I  have  built  up  a  business  of  which  I  am  proud  and  I  have  the 
very  best  opportunity  to  know  just  what  advantages  are  possessed  by  those  who 
take  up  the  breeding  of  poultry  for  market  or  for  fancy. 

In  the  first'  place  poultry-keeping  is  a  business  which  is  very  flexible.  By 
this  I  mean  that  it  will  pay  a  big  profit  whether  a  large  or  a  small  amount  is 
invested  in  it.  This  makes  it  adaptable  to  every  condition  in  life.  The  man 
who  starts  out  to  be  a  merchant  must  have  a  considerable  sum  of  money  before 
he  can  begin,  unless  some  one  will  give  him  credit  which  is  the  same  thing  as 
money  under  certain  conditions.  The  professional  man  must  spend  considerable 
money  and  take  several  years  of  time  before  he  can  begin  to  make  a  living. 
The  farmer  must  have  land  for,  even  if  he  rents  land  he  must  pay  the  owner 
for  its  use  and  invest  quite  a  sum  in  teams,  tools  and  equipment.  I  do  not  call 
to  minr!  a  single  other  business  besides  poultry-keeping  in  which  a  man  can 
start  with  a  small  capital  and  build  up  within  a  year  or  two  a  business  which 
will  return  profit  enough  to  keep  a  family  in  comfort  and  increasing  luxury. 
A  few  fowls  properly  handled  may  be  used  for  the  foundation  of  a  large  flock 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


u 


SINGLE  COMB  WHITE  LEGHORNS. 


The  White  Leghorns  are  adapted  to  any  part  of  this  country,  and  prof- 
itable wherever  kept.  Like  its  Brown  ancestors  the  White  Leghorn  is  an 
"egg  machine"  that  works  constantly  and  at  high  speed.  The  eggs  are 
pure  white,  weigh  an  average  of  two  ounces  each,  and  are  produced  the  year 
through,  except  during  the  molting  period,  and  even  then  the  White  Leg- 
horns do  not  stop  laying  altogether.  The  White  Leghorn  is  a  non-sitter, 
very  few  of  the  hens  ever  offering  to  sit,  and  pullets  begin  to  lay  at  five 
months  or  sooner.  The  beaks,  shanks  and  skin  are  a  bright  yellow,  the 
comb  and  wattles  bright  red  and  large,  and  ear  lobes  are  pure  white  and 
the  eyes  bright  reddish  bay.  .  They  are  good  foragers,  hardy,  alive  every 
minute,  a  flock  of  the  Single  Comb  White  Leghorns  earns  money  fo:  its 
owner  every  day  in  the  year. 


within  a  very  short  time,  if  modern  methods  are  practiced.  Say  the  beginner 
buys  a  single  pen  of  fowls,  a  male  and  four  females.  If  he  uses  an  incubator 
and  keeps  the  hens  from  sitting  they  will  produce  enough  eggs  in  one  season, 
during  the  hatching  season,  to  give  the  owner  at  least  100  pullets  for  future 
laying.  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  these  four  hens  will  pay  two  prices 
for  the  feed  they  eat  in  the  eggs  that  may  be  sold  in  the  market.  In  the 
meantime  the  chicks  that  have  been  hatched  are  growing  up  and  when  about 
twelve  weeks  of  age  the  cockerels  may  be  sold  for  fryers  for  enough  money  to 
pay  for  all  the  feed  all  the  chicks  have  consumed  up  to  that  time  and  enough 
more  to  buy  all  the  feed  the  pullets  will  consume  up  to  the  time  they  begin  to 
pay  a  profit  themselves.  If  care  is  taken  to  buy  good  stock  the  surplus  cockerels 
may  often  be  sold  for  from  two  to  four  times  the  market  price  and  thus  add 
to  the  returns  from  the  experiment.  Where  good  care  is  given  the  fowls  an 
investment  of  this  kind  often  pays  two  or  three  hundred  fold  the  first  year. 
After  100  laying  hens  are  in  the  flock  progress  is  easy.  The  best  may  be  selected 
as  pullets  come  on  to  take  their  place  and  the  quality  of  the  flock  improved  all 
the  time.  All  this  time  the  flock  is  paying  a  profit  and  the  owner  is  learning 
how  to  make  the  most  of  the  products  of  his  poultry  yard.  If  he  has  ambition 
he  will  soon  find  that  his  poultry  is  paying  him  well  enough  that  he  can  cut 
loose  from  other  forms  of  employment  and  become  his  own  master,  independent 
and  on  the  sure  road  to  building  up  enough  so  that  he  will  not  need  to  have 
any  fears  of  the  future. 

The  Poultry  business  is  one  in  which  almost  any  one  can  engage.  The  work 
is  so  light  that  women,  children  and  semi-invalids  can  do  most  of  it  without 
overtaxing  their  strength.     It  is  out  of  door  work  where  those  in  delicate  health 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


can  breathe  the  pure  air  and  get  soaked  in  sunshine,  which  is  the  best  medicine 
ever  taken  by  man.  The  young  and  the  old,  the  rich  and  the  poor  have  an  equal 
chance  in  the  poultry  business  as  no  monopolist  can  secure  it  to  himself  nor 
can  any  trust  take  all  the  profits.  The  farmer  accepts  for  his  grain  what  the 
elevator  trust  or  the  board  of  trade  speculator  says  he  shall  get,  the  breeder 
of  live  stock  is  hard  and  fast  in  the  clutches  of  the  big  packing  house  trust, 
the  man  in  almost  every  other  line  of  work  or  business  must  bow  to  some  trust 
or  monopoly,  but  the  poultry  business  has  never  been  gobbled  up  by  trusts  or 
monopolies,  nor  will  it  ever  be.  A  business  in  which  the  smallest  breeder  can 
successfully  meet  any  competitor  will  always  be  open  to  every  one  and  always 
be  free  to  any  one  who  desires  to  engage  in  it. 

The  poultry  business  earns  money  every  week  in  the  year.  Once  a  start 
has  been  made  the  poultryman  is  producing  something  which  is  in  demand  in 
every  place  in  the  Union,  no  matter  how  remote  from  the  great  markets  it  may 
be  and  the  price  never  falls  below  the  profit  bearing  mark.  Poultry  and  eggs 
are  salable  any  day  in  the  week  anywhere  in  any  country  on  earth,  a  statement 
which  will  not  apply  to  any  other  business  except  possibly  the  dairy  business, 
which  iequires  large  capital  to  conduct.  The  poultry-breeder  has  eggs  or  poultry 
to  sell  every  day  in  the  year  and  he  can  sell  for  spot  cash.  The  man  who  breeds 
live  stock  must  wait  six  months  to  three  years  to  get  his  returns  and  the  farmer 
must  plow  and  sow  and  then  after  months  of  waiting  harvest  and  market  his 
crops  while  the  poultryman  has  been  harvesting  his  crops  of  egss  and  poultry 
and  getting  his  money  from  day  to  day.  Today  he  buys  feed  and  tomorrow  his 
hens  ppy  for  it  and  pay  twice  the  original  price  so  the  money  is  turned  over 
day  after  day  always  at  a  big  profit,  which  is  the  surest  and  fastest  way  of 
making  money  known  to  man. 

The  prices  paid  for  poultry  are  about  the  same  year  after  year,  except  that 
for  fifteen  years  prices  have  regularly  been  higher  at  a  certain  season  in  the 
year  than  they  were  before  at  that  season.  This  regular  and  consistent  increase 
in  price  is  the  most  promising  part  of  the  poultry  business.  It  shows  that 
demand  is  going  ahead  of  supply  and  the  reason  for  this  is  that  the  stock  of 
meat-producing  animals  in  this  country  is  growing  smaller  and  smaller  every 
year.  There  are  thousands  fewer  cattle  and  millions  fewer  hogs  in  this  country 
than  there  were  a  few  years  ago  and  all  the  time  we  see  a  large  increase  in 
population.  Instead  of  keeping  up  with  the  growth  of  our  population  the  number 
of  meat-producing  animals  grows  actually  less  all  the  time.  The  result  is  in- 
creases prices  for  all  kinds  of  meats  and  the  people  turn  to  poultry  and  eggs 
to  supply  the  shortage  and  prices  keep  climbing  higher  and  higher  as  the  years 
go  by.  There  are  many  other  advantages  that  I  might  name,  such  as  the 
comparative  small  space  required,  the  light  work,  and  the  ease  with  which  the 
details  of  the  business  are  learned,  but  I  must  pass  on  to  the  actual  work  of 
keeping  fowls  in  a  way  that  will  make  possible  the  largest  profits. 


Chapter  III 

LOCATING  THE  POULTRY  YARD. 


In  almost  every  case  the  poultry  yard  must  be  located  wherever  there  is 
room  for  it  rather  than  in  the  place  best  suited  for  it.  This  is  because  keeping 
poultry  is  usually  the  last  thing  that  is  arranged  for  in  building  the  house 
and  other  outbuildings.  Most  people  buy  or  build  their  houses  with  reference 
to  the  street  or  road  or  the  surrounding  houses,  without  giving  any  consider- 
ation +o  the  noultry  yard.  Where  a  place  is  bought  with  poultry-keeping  in 
view  a  selection  may  be  made  so  as  to  locate  the  poultry  vard  in  a  suitable 
place,  but  this  is  not  always  the  case  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  poultry 
plant,  be  it  large  or  small,  must  be  made  to  adapt  itself  to  the  location, 
rather  than  being  located  in  the  most  suitable  place.  Fortnnatelv  it  is  entirely 
possible  to  so  arrange  a  poultry  plant  that  it  may  successfully  be  operated,  no 
matter  how  it  may  be  located. 

The  best  place  is  on  a  southern  or  southeastern  slope,  the  surface  dropping 
just  enough  to  give  perfect  drainage.  If  the  slope  is  too  steep  there  will  be 
a  tendency  for  the  soil  and  all  litter  to  gradually  wrork  to  the  lowest  point 
and  accumulate  there.  Even  perfectly  level  land  mav  be  used  if  it  be  of  a 
porous  gravel  texture   or   if  it   can  be  perfectly   drained.     I   insist   on   a  poultry 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


WHITE   PLYMOUTH  ROCKS. 


The  original  White  Plymouth  Rocks  were  sports  from  the  Barred 
Plymouth  Rocks  variety,  from  which  they  differ  only  in  color  of  plumage, 
which  is  snow  white.  Combs  and  wattles  are  beautiful  red,  the  legs,  beak 
and  skin  are  rich  yellow.  They  breed  true  to  color.  Their  large  size, 
stately  carriage  and  beautiful  color  is  admired  by  all.  Standard  weights 
are  as  follows:  Cock  9%  pounds,  hen  7%  pounds,  cockerel  8  pounds,  pullet 
6%   pounds. 


run  where  the  water  does  not  stand.  Chickens  do  not  mind  damp  feet  very 
much  if  they  have  a  dry  house  to  retire  to  at  will,  but  mud  in  the  poultry 
yard  is  an  abomination  that  soon  become  a  breeding  place  for  disease  and 
filthy  beyond  description. 

An  eastern  slope  is  not  bad  and  a  western  one  may  be  allowable,  but  never 
locate  a  poultry  house  where  the  front  must  face  the  north,  except  in  those 
very  uncommon  places  where  mountain  valleys  are  so  opened  that  the  coldest 
winds  blow  from  some  other  direction.  Other  things  being  at  all  favorable 
the  house  should  front  to  the  south,  as  that  gives  early  and  late  sunlight 
and  the  full  light  of  the  sun  at  midday,  a  very  important  consideration 
because  every  poultry  house  should  be  built  so  the  sunshine  can  reach  every 
part  of  it  every  sunny  day.  There  is  no  disinfectant  as  good  as  unrestricted 
sunshine  and  the  poultry  house  so  built  that  the  sun  can  shine  directly  on 
every  part  of  it  every  sunny  day  will  never  become  the  harbor  for  disease- 
breeding  germs  as  long  as  it  is  kept  reasonably  clean  and  the  floor  can  be 
kept   dry. 

In  another  place  in  this  book  I  give  several  plans  for  poultry  houses  and 
it  will  be  noticed  that  I  believe  in  big  windows.  This  is  because  my  experi- 
ence has  been  that  light,  air  and  unrestricted  sunshine  go  farther  in  main- 
taining the  health   of  fowls  than  all  the   medicines  in  the  list. 

A    direct   eastern    exposure   is   very   good    in    some   places,    especially    in   the 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


&m 


^■r 


'  "^^smSf. 


ROSE  COMB  WHITE  LEGHORNS. 


Rose  Comb  White  Leghorns  are  identical  with  the  Single  Comb  variety, 
except  they  have  a  low  rose  comb.  They  begin  laying  when  about  four 
months  old,  and  if  properly  attended  to  will  furnish  eggs  the  year  round. 
No  fowl  shows  greater  beauty  on  a  green  lawn  than  the  White  Leghorns, 
owing  to  their  graceful  style,  fine,  large,  red  combs  and  white  plumage. 


dry  parts  of  our  arid  western  states.  In  these  states  the  air  is  so  dry  most  of 
the  time  that  germ  life  finds  no  chance  to  flourish  in  the  poultry  house  because 
the  droppings  dry  almost  as  soon  as  they  are  deposited,  and  dampness  is  the 
partner  of  darkness  in  producing  germ  life.  In  the  arid  states  the  middle 
of  the  day  in  summer  time  is  likely  to  be  very  hot,  so  direct  sunshine  into 
the  poultry  house  would  make  it  quite  uncomfortable  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances.  The  sun  will  shine  into  such  a  house  until  about  ten  in  the 
morning  and,  as  the  sun  shines  300  days  in  a  year  in  these  states,  with  hardly 
a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and  shines  much  of  the  time  during  the  remainder  of  the 
year,  the  house  built  to  front  the  east  will  get  quite  as  much  sunshine  as  one 
facing  directly  south  would  in  the  midwest  or  eastern  states.  It  is  not  advis- 
able to  front  the  house  to  the  southwest  in  any  part  of  the  country  as  this 
direction  is  the  one  from  which  many   chilling  winds  blow  both  east  and  west. 

The  poultry  yard  should  be  located  so  as  to  give  a  sunny  run  for  the 
fowls.  I  do  not  insist  on  a  large  run  for  poultry  because  I  do  not  believe 
it  is  absolutely  necessary.  Of  course  if  a  large  run  or  even  an  unlimited 
range  is  open  to  the  fowls  they  will  secure  a  considerable  quantity  of  natural 
feed  such  as  green  stuff,  seeds  and  insects  but  I  have  reason  to  doubt  very 
much  whether  a  hen  that  runs  at  large  does  as  well  or  lays  as  many  eggs  as 
one  that  is  kept  yarded  and  is  properly  supplied  with  feed  and  water.  The 
hen  that  runs  at  large  uses  up  a  large  part  of  the  feed  she  consumes  in  the 
energy  required  to  run  about  all  day,  whereas  the  hen  that  is  kept  yarded 
uses  her   energy  in   the   production   of   eggs. 

The  yard   should  be   dry.     I  repeat  this  because  I  consider  it  an   important 


10  HOVv    TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


SILVER  SPANGLED  HAMBURG  COCK. 


The  Hamburg  unquestionably  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
fowl  bred  for  exhibition  purposes.  Hamburgs  in  all  their  varieties  are 
beautiful.  As  layers  they  compare  favorably  with  our  best  bred  Leghorns 
and  like  the  Leghorns  are  classed  as  non-sitters.  As  table  fowls  they  are 
not  much  in  demand,  being  rather  small  and  having  blue  legs.  They  are 
seldom  selected  by  the  purchasers  at  our  market  stands. 


arranged  with  reference  to  shade  for  the  fowls.  The  very  best  shade  is  the 
one  nature  provides  by  growing  trees.  The  shade  of  a  tree  is  cooler  than 
any  shed  or  other  artificial  shade  made  by  man,  although  with  a  little  pains 
it  is  quite  possible  to  make  a  very  good  imitation  of  nature's  shade.  The 
shade  of  a  tree  is  made  up  of  the  shadows  of  thousands  of  leaves  among 
which  the  air  circulates  keeping  the  temperature  down  as  low  as  possible 
under  the  condition,  while  the  shade  of  a  roof  merely  keeps  the  sunshine 
out  while  the  heat  comes  through  almost  as  freely  as  it  would  were  the  roof 
not  there.  In  making  an  artificial  shade  this  should  be  kept  in  mind.  .  A 
double  roof  with  space  enough  between  the  two  parts  of  it  to  allow  air 
to  circulate  freely  makes  a  cool  shade  or  a  shed  with  a  thick  straw  roof 
will  keep  the  heat  out. 

Keep  the  yard  clean  as  well  as  the  house.  This  matter  should  be  con- 
sidered in  locating  the  poultry  yard.  The  droppings  from  the  poultry  house, 
and  th„  rakings  from  the  yard  will  meed  to  be  disposed  of  in  some  manner 
that  will  prevent  them  from  making  an  offensive  appearance  and  a  way  to 
make  this  disposition  of  the  litter  and  droppings  should  be  provided  when 
the  yard  is  located. 

Convenience  to  the  house  is  another  thing  to  be  considered.  A  poultry 
house  may  be  located  quite  near  the  dwelling  if  it  is  kept  neat  and  clean, 
and  where  the  good  wife  or  the  children  are  to  take  any  part  in  caring  for 
the  fowls  their  convenience  should  be  consulted.  At  the  best  it  requires 
a  good  many  steps  during  the  year  to  care  for  a  flock  of  fowls  and  any 
saving  in  distance  will  amount  to  a  good  many  miles  before  a  year's  work 
is  ended. 

Where  the  land  is  level  and  likely  to  become  water-logged  during  the 
early  spring  months  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cover  the  surface  with  three  or  four 
inches  of  moderately  fine  sand.  The  surface  water  will  disappear  in  this  sand 
and  the  fowls  will  have  a  dry  place  on  which  to  walk  while  the  more  retentive 
soil  beneath  is  slowly  absorbing  the  water  held  by  the  sand.  One  poultryman 
who  lives  in  a  large  city  and  keeps  about  three  hundred  fowls  on  about  one- 
third  of  an  acre,  covers  his  yard  a  foot  deep  with  sand  and  shovels  the  grain 
into  it  leaving  the  hens  to  dig  it  out.  Every  fall  this  coat  of  sand  is  removed 
and  another  put  on  and  the  owner  gets  the  work  done  for  nothing.  A  thrifty 
German    gardener    has    discovered    that    the    sand    from    these    yards    is    a    very 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA  11 

good  fertilizer  for  his  gardens  and  hauls  the  sand  away  replacing  it  with 
fresh  for  the  benefit  he  gets  from  the  fertilizing  material  in  that  taken  away. 
If  there  is  room  enough  to  make  yards  twice  as  large  as  absolutely  neces- 
sary it  is  a  good  plan  to  make  two  yards  for  each  flock.  In  one  may  be  sown 
any  quick-growing  vegetation  which  the  fowls  like  and  when  it  is  large  enough 
for  the  purpose  the  fowls  may  be  turned  into  this  half  of  the  yard  and  allowed 
to  eat  down  the  vegetation  while  a  similar  crop  is  grown  in  the  half  just 
vacated.  A  still  better  plan  is  to  sow  th  e  vacant  yard  with  rape  or 
lettuce  and  cut  the  vegetation,  feeding  it  to  the  fowls.  When  this  is  done 
a  new  growth  at  once  springs  up  andthe  plants  will  renew  themselves  several 
times  during  the  sumer.  This  plan  requires  more  work  but  less  seeding  than 
the   first   one.. 

While  we  should  always  select  the  best  available  location  for  the  poultry 
house  and  yards,  no  one  need  remain  out  of  the  business  of  keeping  poultry 
for  I  have  seen  very 'successful  poultry  plants  located  in  places  which  naturally 
did  not  seem  at  all  favorable.  Anyone  who  desires  to  keep  poultry  will  be 
able  to  make  a  success  of  the  business  in  any  location  where  the  yards  can 
be  kept  dry  the  larger  part  of  the  time.  Poultry  is  so  adaptable  that  it 
will  flourish  in  a  locality  which  at  first  seems  unfavorable  if  it  is  given 
proper  care.  There  are  hundreds  of  successful  poultry  plants  all  over  the 
country  located  that  they  seem  in  very  unsuitable  places.  Indeed  many  times 
the  poultryman  who  has  the  grit  to  begin  and  succeeds  does  so  simply  because 
others  think  it  not  worth  while  to  begin  because  of  unfavorable  conditions. 
In  these  cases  the  enterprising  man  finds  himself  in  control  of  the  market 
and  when  others  try  to  follow  after  him  they  have  merely  what  he  has  left. 

If  the  beginner  will  start  with  good  stock  by  either  buying  fowls  or 
eggs  as  a  beginning,  he  will  soon  find  that  his  investment  is  paying  a  large 
profit  and  will  be  able  to  overcome  any  little  natural  obstacles  which  may 
confront  him.  I  insist  on  good  stock  because  it  is  the  only  kind  any  one  should 
keep,  and  this  book  is  written  to  help  those  who  help  themselves  by  starting 
right. 


Chapter  IV 

POULTRY  HOUSES  AND  PLANS. 


Having  settled  on  the  location  of  the  poultry  yard  the  next  thing  is  to 
consider  housing  the  fowls.  This  is  a  very  important  subject  and  one  on 
which  much  advice  has  been  given,  but  of  late  years  the  whole  subject  of 
housing  poultry  has  been  very  much  simplified.  Formerly  it  was  though  that 
in  order  to  get  winter  eggs  the  poultryman  must  make  his  poultry  house  as 
nearly  air  tight  as  possible  or  even  furnish  artificial  heat  for  his  hens.  I 
very  much  doubt  if  there  is  a  single  artificially  heated  poultry  house  in  this 
country  today  that  is  owned  by  a  practical   and   successful  poultry-keeper. 

It  was  found  that  the  air  tight  style  of  houses  was  almost  invariably 
damp  in  cold  weather,  the  dampness  coming  from  the  vapor  breathed  out  by 
the  fowls  and  having  no  way  of  escape.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  in 
former  times  fowls  were  fairly  steaming  on  a  cold  morning  when  the  doors 
were  opened.  Going  from  this  vapor-laden  air  out  into  the  cold  clear  air  of 
winter  struck  a  chill  through  them  and  cold,  roup,  bronchitis  and  other  throat 
and   lung  diseases  were   much  more   common  than  they  are   today. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  fowls  have  plenty  of  pure,  fresh  air  at 
night.  No  flock  of  hens  will  lay  well  during  the  winter  if  kept  in  a  badly 
ventilated  house.  This  need  led  to  many  forms  of  ventilation,  most  of  which 
made  matters  worse.  A  system  of  ventilation  which  would  furnish  pure  air 
without  any  chance  to  create  draughts  through  the  house  was  long  sought. 
Many  plans  were  tried  only  to  fail.  The  fact  that  impure  air  settles  to 
the  bottom  of  a  room  was  lost  sight  of.  The  air  which  comes  from  the  lungs 
of  any  animal  or  bird  is  warm,  moist  and  laden  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  a 
deadly  poison.  Confine  any  animal  or  bird  in  an  air  tight  room  and  it  will  soon 
die  from  the  effects  of  this  carbonic  acid  gas  exhaled  from  its  own  lungs. 
This  gas  is  heavier  than  atmospheric  air,  and  the  carbonic  acid  gas  and  air 
are  of  the  same  temperature  the  gas  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  the  room  and  if 
there  i?  no   means  of   escape   it   simply  piles  up   until   the   room  is   full   and   life 


12 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


TOULOUSE   GEESE. 


The  Toulouse  geese  are  a  purely  English  breed.  Both  male  and  female 
are  very  massive  in  proportion.  The  bill  and  feet  are  daTk  orange  color, 
head,  neck  and  back  a  dark  gray,  breast  light  gray,  but  descending  lighter 
till  beyond  the  legs  to  the  tail,  they  are  pure  white.  The  combination  of 
color  presents  a  very  attractive  appearance. 

Both  male  and  female  are  uniform  in  color,  being  alike  to  a  feather. 
Adult  Gander  20  pounds,  goose  18  pounds,  young  gander  18  pounds,  young 
goose  15  pounds. 


is  impossible.  However,  when  the  air  first  comes  from  the  lungs  of  the  fowls 
it  is  warmer  and  lighter  than  the  air  in  the  room  and  this  carries  the  deadly 
carbonic  acid  gas  toward  the  roof,  where  it  soon  cools  and  begins  to  sink 
toward  the  floor  very  slowly.  In  its  descent  it  passes  the  fowls  on  their 
perches  and  they  breathe  in  some  portion  of  it.  This  may  not  be  enough 
to  make  any  serious  disturbance,  but  it  will  be  enough  to  so  far  reduce  the 
vitality   of   the   hens   that   they  will   not   lay  well. 

After  many  systems  of  ventilation  had  been  tried  and  found  faulty  some 
one  discovered  that  cloth  be  used  in  the  windows  of  poultry  houses  instead 
of  glass.  It  was  found  that  a  house  with  common  muslin  in  the  place  of  glass 
was  as  warm  as  one  with  glass  in  it  and  light  enough  for  all  pu-poses,  while 
muslin  was  cheaper  than  glass.  Soon  it  was  observed  that  a  poultry  house 
with  cloth  windows  was  never  as  damp  as  one  with  glass  windows  and  then 
it  was  observed  that  the  poultry  house  with  cloth  windows  was  entirely  free 
from  the  stuffy,  foul  odors  which  had  long  been  associated  with  poultry 
houses.  Gradually  it  began  to  dawn  upon  poultrymen  that  cloth  windows 
provided    a   perfect    system   of   ventilation   as   the    air   would   enter   between   the 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA  13 

threads  in  the  cloth  in  such  a  manner  that  it  created  no  draught,  but  sp-ead 
all  over  the  room   renewing  the   air  in   a  short  time. 

Th's  led  to  careful  experiments  when  it  was  found  that  a  cloth  window 
in  a  poultry  house  prevented  dampness  by  allowing  the  vapor  of  the  breath 
of  the  fowls  to  escape  instead  of  lodging  on  the  walls  and  ceiling  of  the 
house  to  turn  into  frost  in  cold  weather. 

Gradually  cloth  began  to  take  the  place  of  glass  in  poultry  houses  and 
it  was  not  long  before  poultrymen  were  trying  how  larger  windows  would 
work  and  being  found  to  work  well  the  size  of  the  openings  in  front  have 
been  increased  until  now  many  poultry  houses  are  open  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  front,  muslin  being  substituted  for  glass  and  even  the  muslin  screen  is 
not  used  except  in  quite  cold  weather.  I  know  of  one  poultry  house  built 
on  the  plan  of  House  No.  1,  shown  in  the  illustration,  which  is  left  open  at 
least  nine-tenths  of  the  year,  only  a  wire  netting  screen  being  used  to  keep 
the  fowls  in  and  enemies  out.  The  chickens  kept  in  this  house  have  never  been 
touched  with  frost  and  have  laid  exceedingly  well  during  the  winter. 

With  the  use  of  the  muslin  window  came  in  the  drop  curtain,  described 
further  on,  and  these  two  improvements  have  done  more  for  the  health  of 
the  fowls  of  this  country  than  any  other  two  devices  ever  invented. 

In  making  plans  for  a  poultry  house  the  simpler  the  plan  the  better  for 
both  owner  and  birds.  Every  inside  arrangement  should  be  made  so  it  may 
be  easily  taken  out  and  put  out  of  doors  when  the  house  is  cleaned.  The 
nearer  each  room  resembles  a  big  square  box  the  easier  to  keep  clean  and 
in  good  condition.  The  plans  should  be  made  so  the  perches  do  not  touch 
the  walls  at  any  place.  The  little  red  mites  which  are  so  troublesome  to 
the  poultry-keeper  and  cause  him  so  much  loss  every  year,  are  not  really 
lice  but  blood-sucking  spiders.  They  do  not  breed  on  the  fowls  and  very 
few  of  them  stay  on  them  during  the  day,  seeking  cracks  and  crevices  to 
hide  in  during  the  day.  If  the  perches  rest  against  the  walls  these  little 
pasts  find  hiding  places  in  the  crevices  in  the  walls  as  well  as  under  the 
perches  and  lay  their  eggs  there,  multiplying  in  an  amazing  way.  If  a  few 
of  these  mites  are  introduced  into  a  poultry  house  it  will  not  be  long  until 
there  are  millions  of  them,  and  the  tiny  speck  of  blood  that  each  one  takes 
makes  up  an  aggregate  which  depletes  the  vitality  of  the  birds  and  makes 
them  easy  prey  to  any  germs  of  disease  which  may  come  along.  The  floor 
of  the  poultry  house  should  always  be  kept  covered  with  a  light  coat  of 
fine  dust.  This  may  be  common  garden  soil  well  dried,  road  dust  or  coal 
ashes.  Slacked  lime  and  wood  ashes  are  sometimes  used  but  they  take  the 
color  out  of  the  shanks  of  the  birds  and  make  their  plumage  rough  and 
unsightly,  because  they  are  alkalies  and  eat  up  any  oil  with  which  they 
come  in  contact.  Lice  and  mites  which  drop  into  fine  dust  soon  die  as  they 
can  not  move  about  in  such  material  and  the  fine  particles  of  dust  stop 
up  their  breathing  pores  and  choke  them  to  death.  Over  the  dust  on  the 
floor  dTy  straw,  leaves  or  other  litter  should  be  put  to  the  depth  of  six 
inches.  When  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  are  to  be  had  one  of  these  should  be 
used  in  the  place  of  other  litter  during  the  winter.  Laying  hens  and  growing 
chickens  eat  the  leaves  and  smaller  stems  of  good  alfalfa  or  clover  hay  and 
this  saves  feeding  as  much  grain  as  otherwise  would  be  needed  as  well  as 
taking  the  place  of  green  feed  which  they  get  in  the  summer  months.  I  do 
not  know  of  a  better  use  for  either  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  than  to  use  it 
for  litter  in  a  poultry  house,  renewing  it  at  least  once  a  week,  and  twice 
a  week  is  better. 

Inside  the  poultry  house  there  should  always  be  a  wide,  shallow  box 
filled  with  dust  in  which  the  hens  can  wallow.  In  the  dust  a  little  fine  sulphur 
should  be  sprinkled  as  a  help  to  keep  away  lice  and  mites.  In  another  box 
there  should  be  plenty  of  grit  of  some  kind  and  in  still  other  boxes  crushed 
oyster  shells  or  crushed  bone  and  charcoal.  It  is  now  possible  to  get  crushed 
charcoa1  at  almost  any  store  where  poultry  feed  is  sold  and  this  is  one  of  the 
best  things  that  can  be  given  hens  as  it  has  the  power  of  absorbing  gasses 
and  keeping  the  stomach  clean  and  sweet.  Prepared  charcoal  with  which  is 
mixed  other  ingredients  good  for  fowls  is  now  sold  by  some  manufacturers 
and  this  is  preferable  to  the  natural  product  as  it  is  tonic  and  blood-purifying 
as  well  as  being  a  preventive  of  disease.  Water,  of  course,  should  be  sup- 
plied plentifully.  It  is  best  to  use  a  water  fountain  which  keep  the  water 
clean,  but   an   open   vessel   may  be  used   if   it   is   set   on   a  platform   about   eight 


14 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


MAMMOTH    IMPERIAL    PEKIN. 


They  are  the  most  popular  as  well  as  the  most  profitable  duck  we  have 
in  this  country.  They  are  very  large,  creamy  white,  laying  from  100  to  150 
eggs  each  season.  They  are,  as  a  rule,  very  easy  to  raise,  mature  quickly, 
and  are  the  leading  variety  for  market;  do  not  require  water  except  for 
drinking.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Adult  drake,  8  pounds;  young 
drake,  7  pounds;  adult  duck,  7  pounds;  young  duck,  6  pounds. 


inches  high  to  prevent  the  fowls  from  scratching  litter  into  it.  Where  there 
is  more  than  one  room  in  the  poultry  house  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cut  a  hole 
in  the  partition  between  the  rooms  and  set  the  water  vessel  in  this  so  two 
rooms  can  drink  from  the  same  vessel.  This  should  be  on  a  platform  also, 
as  clean     water  is   as  necessary  for  fowls  as  for  human  beings. 

The  nest  boxes  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  hens  are  out  of  sight  when 
on  the  nest.  This  may  be  done  by  setting  the  nests  away  from  the  walls  with 
the  openings  on  the  back  side  so  the  hens  must  go  behind  the  nests  to  get 
into  them.  It  is  best  to  make  a  row  of  nest  boxes  having  a  hinged  lid  so  the 
eggs   can  be   taken   from   the   top. 

The  perches  should  always  be  on  a  level.  It  is  a  mistake  to  make  the 
perches  so  that  one  is  higher  than  the  other  as  hens  always  fight  for  the 
highest  place  and  the  hens  that  roost  highest  in  the  house  always  have  the 
purest  air.  The  best  way  to  make  perches  is  to  make  a  table  about  thirty 
inches  high  of  a  length  that  will  bring  the  ends  eighteen  inches  _  from  the 
walls  and  wide  enough  to  support  the  number  of  perches  needed  with  a  foot 
on  each  side  to  spare.  On  this  table  the  perches  may  be  supported  by  putting 
them  on  a  piece  of  2x8-inch  scantling,  set  edgewise.  A  good  perch  is  made 
of  lx2-inch  strips  with  the  top  corners  rounded  so  as  to  fit  the  toes  of  the  hens 
as  they  sit  on  them  to  sleep.  These  perches  should  be  laid  so  a  wide  side, 
is  up  and  may  be  kept  in  place  by  being  dropped  into  notches  cut  in  the 
support  When  perches  are  arranged  this  way  with  a  dropping  board  under 
them  the  hens  have  the  use  of  Jhe  whole  of  the  floor  and  most  of  the  d-oppings 
are  caught  on  the  board  and  can  be  drawn  off  with  a  common  hoe  and  caught 
in   a   box   or   basket  to  be    carried   out.      The    dropping   board   should   always  be 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


15 


covered  with  an  inch  of  dry  soil  so  as  to  prevent  the  droppings  from  sticking 
to  the  boards.  Where  droppings  are  kept  and  stored  in  a  dry  place,  when 
thus  mixed  with  soil,  they  are  worth  !p20.00  a  ton  for  fertilizing  purposes 
and  are  well  worth  saving.  The  dropping  board  should  be  cleaned  at  least 
twice   a   week. 


THE  HOUSE  ITSELF. 


Having  described  the  accesories  of  the  poultry  house  I  will  now  give 
plans.  As  I  have  said  the  simpler  the  plan  the  better  the  house.  The  very 
best  practical  poultry  house  that  can  be  built  may  be  built  of  very  common 
lumber.  It  is  useless'  expense  to  buy  first-class  lumber  for  a  poultry  house, 
unless  money  is  no  object  and  the  builder  wants  to  make  his  house  ornamental 
as  well  as  useful. 

I  prefer  the  shingle  roof  to   anything  else  I  have  ever  used.     It  does  not 


A  cheap  and  good  poultry  house.  The  shed  has  an  open  front 
protected  by.  wire  netting.  A  thick  layer  of  straw  is  kept  on  the  floor 
of  the  shed.     The  door  of  the  main  house  is  simply  a  string  wire  screen. 


cost  any  more  than  a  roof  made  of  any  first-class  roofing  material  and  is 
better  in  many  ways.  In  the  first  place  a  roof  made  of  any  of  the  roofings 
containing  coal  tar  asphaltum  makes  the  house  very  hot  in  summer,  as  the 
materia1  of  which  it  is  made  conducts  heat  perfectly  and  the  inside  of  the 
house  becomes  very  hot  in  summer.  A  shingle  roof  makes  the  house  cooler 
in  summer  and  is  just  as  warm  in  winter.  The  sides  of  the  house  may  be 
made  of  common  shiplap  lumber  and  battened.  This  makes  a  sightly  house 
and  when  lined  with  a  good  quality  of  building  paper  a  very  warm  one  in 
winter.  The  front  of  the  house  may  be  in  the  open  style,  as  illustrated,  or 
closed  and  lighted  with  glass  windows  as  the  builder  prefers.  I  have  illus- 
trated open  front  houses  because  they  are  becoming  very  popular  with  poultry- 
men  everywhere,  but  any  one  who  prefers  glass  windows  and  a  tight  house 
can  modify  the   plans  I  give  without  the  least   difficulty. 

Among  all  the  poultry  houses  plans  there   are  just  three   foundation   styles. 
All  poultry  houses  are  modifications  of  these  three  styles. 


16 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


If  a  tight  poultry  house  with  glass  windows  is  built  instead  of  one  with 
large  openings  screened  with  muslin  instead  of  glass  the  inside  arrangements 
can  be  the  same  except  as  to  the  drop  curtain.  This  drop  curtain  is  fastened 
to  the  roof  so  as  to  drop  a  few  inches  in  front  of  the  perches.  It  should 
extend  entirely  across  the  room  so  that  when  it  is  dropped  down  it  makes 
a  little  sleeping  room  three  sides  of  which  are  the  sides  of  the  room,  the 
curtain  itself  making  the  fourth  side.  This  curtain  should  be  made  of  a  rather 
closely  woven  burlap  such  as  grain  sacks  are  made  from.  This  curtain  pre- 
vents the  air  from  moving  rapidly  around  the  fowls  and  retains  the  heat 
of  their  bodies  close  to  them  instead  of  allowing  it  to  be  spread  all  over  the 
room.  At  the  same  time  the  burlap  is  open  enough  to  allow  fresh  air  to  enter 
the  sleeping  quarters.  With  such  a  curtain  the  open  front  house  has  a  frost 
proof  sleeping  place  for  the  fowls  even  in  the  coldest  weather  and  at  the 
same   time    gives   them    a   full   supply   of   fresh   air. 

In  making  the  curtain  front  for  an  open  front  house  and  the  drop  curtain, 
the  best  houses  now  have  the  opening  in  front  covered  with  common  poultry 
netting  on  the  outside  and  inside  one  or  more  frames  are  made  to  fit  the 
window  opening.  If  the  opening  is  a  large  one  two  screens  are  made  but  a 
small  opening  needs  but  one.  These  frames  are  made  of  light  material  and  the 
muslin  covering  for  the  window  is  stretched  over  them.  The  frames  are  then 
hinged  at  the  top  so  they  can  be  swung  inward  and  fastened  by  a  hook  close 
to  the  roof.  The  drop  curtain  is  made  in  a  simlar  way.  This  makes  the 
screen  rigid  and  close  fitting  so  wind  can  not  blow  it  out  of  place. 


HOUSE  NO.  1. 
Plain  shed  roof;  full  open  front;  8x12  feet.     For  25  fowls. 


HOUSE  NO.  1. 


House  No.  1,  which  is  illustrated,  shows  a  plain  roof.  This  is  the  cheapest 
form  of  a  poultry  house  and  requires  less  lumber  for  a  given  floor  space 
than  any  other  style.  It  may  be  made  quite  low  at  the  rear  and  the  lower 
it  is  the  less  space  inside  to  spread  the  heat  of  the  bodies  of  the  fowls  over 
and  the  easier  it  is  to  maintain  at  a  comfortable  temperature.  The  lower  the 
less  lumber  it  requires  also,  and  the  cheaper  to  build.  It  should  be  high  enough 
at  the  front  to  give  sufficient  head  room  so  the  care-taker  need  not  stoop 
while  doing  his  work,  but  four  and  one-half  or  five  feet  is  high  enough  for 
the  rear.  The  illustration  shows  a  one  one-room  house,  but  rooms  may  be  added 
until  the  house  is  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  flock  of  any  size.  It  is 
recommended  that  where  more  than  one  room  is  needed  the  partitions  be 
made  tight.  For  convenience  a  door  is  placed  in  each  partition,  this  being 
hung  on  hinges  which  allow  the  door  to  swing  either  way,  these  being  spring 
hinges  so  the  door  will  naturally  be  placed  at  the  front  end  of  the  partitions 
and  the  perches  for  the  fowls  at  the  back.  One  poultry  house  of  this  kind 
has  ten  rooms  in  it,  nine  being  for  the  fowls  and  the  other  a  feed  room.  This 
house  faces  south  and  has  but  one  outside  door  at  the  east  end.  The  illus- 
tration   shows   a    small    door   under  the    large   window   in   front.     This   is   wide 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA 


17 


POULTRY  HOUSE  NO.  2. 
A  Wire   Netting  Between  Windows. 


enough  so  that  in  cleaning  the  house  the  refuse  can  be  pitched  through  this 
opening.  The  yards  attached  to  this  house  all  have  a  gate  next  the  house 
and  when  the  house  is  being  cleaned  a  wheelborrow  can  be  used,  one  man  inside 
pitching  the  refuse  out  and  another  loading  it  on  the  wheelborrow.  If  but 
one  man  is  doing  the  work  he  first  cleans  the  room  and  later  wheels  the 
refuse  away.     For  most  people  this  style  of  house  is  preferable  to  any  other. 


HOUSE  NO.  2. 


House  No.  2  is  preferred  by  a  good  many  poultry-keepers  because  the  work 
can  be  done  without  in  any  way  interfering  with  the  fowls,  as  it  has  an 
alley-way  at  the  back  through  which  feed  is  carried.  Some  poultrymen  claim 
that  hens  lay  better  when  the  care-taker  does  not  disturb  them,  while  others 
claim  that  the  more  familiar  hens  are  with  the  one  taking  care  of  them  the 
better  they  lay.  It  is  also  claimed  that  a  hall  or  alley-way  in  a  poultry 
house  simplifies  the  work  of  caring  for  the  birds  by  making  it  possible  to 
carry  the  feed  along  the  alley  and  place  it  where  the  fowls  eat  it  with  the 
least  possible  expenditure  of  labor.  This  style  of  a  house  is  considerably  more 
costly  than  the  shed  roof  illustrated  as  No.  1,  as  the  roof  must  be  higher, 
the  space  taken  up  by  the  alley  is  wasted  and  an  extra  partition  of  some  kind 


30// 


A 


PERCHES 
9  *  10  FT. 


/; 


PERCHES 

9xI0ft. 


% 


PERCHES 

9xI0ft. 

NESTS 

WINDOW 


/- 


Poultry   House  N*2 

GROUND  PLAN  HOUSE  NO.  2. 


CM 


18 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


HOUSE  NO.  3. 


is  necessary  between  the  alley  and  the  pens  or  rooms  in  which  the  fowls  are 
kept.  House  No.  2,  as  illustrated  has  glass  windows  of  the  usual  kind  and 
between  the  windows  the  poultry  netting  and  muslin  curtain  is  used.  In 
all  forms  of  poultry  houses  a  considerable  number  are  made  in  this  way.  It 
is  claimed  that  this  gives  the  fowls  more  light  with  .the  added  advantage  of 
giving  them  the  pure  air  that  comes  with  the  full  open  front  style.  The 
openings  between  the  windows  are  fitted  with  poultry  netting  and  muslin 
covered  screens  the  same  as  they  are  fitted  in  House  No.  1.  The  house  shown 
in  this  illustration  is  12x30  feet,  contains  three  rooms  and  is  used  to  house 
seventy  five  fowls.  The  same  money  used  in  this  house  might  have  been  used 
to  build  a  shed  roof  house  capable  of  accommodating  150  hens. 

House  No.  3  is  a  very  good  one  but  a  very  costly  one  to  build.  As  the 
illustration  shows,  it  is  a  combination  of  two  shed  roof  houses,  one  enough 
higher  than  the  other  to  allow  a  row  of  windows  to  be  let  in  above  the  roof 
of  the  lower  one.  The  leanto  or  lower  part  of  this  house  has  a  full  open  front 
as  described  in  House  No.  1,  and  it  is  a  rare  cold  night  when  it  is  necessary 
to  put  down  the  muslin  screen  in  this  house.  The  hens  sleep  in  the  back  part 
of  the  house  and  when  the  burlap  curtain  is  let  down  they  do  not  feel  the 
effect  of  the  cold  out  of  doors.  The  roof  of  the  leanto  is  so  low  that  rains 
or   snows    never   blow   far   into   the   house   and   this   leanto    makes   an    excellent 


DOOR TO 
LEANTO 

SCRATCHING 
ROOM 


DOOR  TO 

SLEEPING 

ROOM 


HOUSE  NO.  4. 
House   with  Leanto   Muslin   Eoof  for  Intensive  Poultry  Yard. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA  19 

scratching  room  as  the  low  roof  facing  the  south  allows  the  sunshine  to  warm 
it  while  the  windows  above  give  free  entrance  to  the  sunshine  allowing  the 
whole  house  to  be  warmed  every  sunny  day.  The  only  thing  that  can  be  said 
against  this  house  is  that  it  costs  more  than  the  average  poultryman  feels 
able  to  put  into  a  poultry  house. 

A  plan  for  keeping  a  few  fowls  cheaply  and  well  has  been  invented  by  a 
friend  of  mine  who  did  not  care  to  go  into  the  extreme  of  intensive  poultry 
culture,  but  who  had  time  to  give  his  birds  good  care.  He  first  built  a  narrow 
house  2x6  feet,  six  feet  high  and  covered  it  top  and  sides  with  a  good  prepared 
roofing.  The  high  side  of  this  house  was  to  the  south  and  in  the  south 
side  a  window  about  thirty  inches  square  was  cut  and  this  was  first  covered 
with  wire  netting  and  then  with  a  heavy  muslin.  The  door  was  in  the  east 
end  and  as  just  as  large  as  the  end  of  the  house.  The  roosts  were  on  the  north 
side.  A  small  door  was  cut  next  the  floor  so  the  hens  could  go  out  and  in  at 
pleasure.  On  the  south  side  of  this  house  a  leanto  four  feet  square  was  built. 
The  south  side  of  this  was  thirty  inches  high  and  the  side  next  the  house 
first  built  was  five  feet  high.  The  sides  of  this  leanto  were  covered  with 
prepared  roofing  and  a  door  was  cut  in  the  east  and  next  the  larger  part  of 
the  house.  The  leanto  was  covered  with  thick  muslin,  tightly  stretched  and 
fastened  to  rafters. 

With  these  three  styles  of  houses  as  models  any  poultryman  can  plan  a 
house  to  suit  his  individual  tastes,  modifying  the  plans  I  have  given  to  suit 
himself.  I  have  selected  these  plans  as  the  three  which  contain  all  that  is 
needed  in  any  good  poultry  house  expecting  the  reader  to  be  able  to  make 
such  use   of  them  as  best   suits  him. 

These  styles  admit  of  much  chance  for  individual  ingenuity  and  are  given 
not  as  the  only  styles  worth  using  but  as  the  best  models  of  the  three  pre- 
vailing styles.  Another  form  of  house  for  the  "back  yard"  poultryman  will 
be  given  in  the  chapter  on  intensive  poultry-keeping,  which  follows. 


Chapter  V 

INTENSIVE  POULTRY  CULTURE. 


Intensive  poultry  culture  is  receiving  much  attention  these  last  few  years, 
although  it  has  been  talked  about  for  a  long  time  by  a  few  who  have  tried 
it.  As  long  ago  as  ten  years  a  fancier  in  New  Jersey  succeeded  in  keeping 
more  than  400  full  grown  fowls  on  a  little  less  than  one-third  of  an  acre  and 
made  his  business  successful,  keeping  his  hens  in  good  health  and  up  to  the 
highest   mark   in   laying. 

It  would  seem  almost  impossible  to  keep  so  many  hens  on  such  a  small 
lot  and  the  writer  became  so  much  interested  in  the  stories  this  man  told 
that  he  traveled  to  the  plant  on  purpose  to  see  it  and  convince  himself  that 
the  fowls  were  actually  there. 

The  land  was  almost  covered  with  big  fowls  and  every  one  seemed  to  be 
hearty  and  vigorous.  The  yards  were  small  but  they  were  kept  very  clean 
and  all  the  grain  the  birds  got  was  spaded  into  the  ground,  this  being  a  fine 
sand  which  was  hauled  into  the  yards  and  laid  down  to  the  depth  of  four 
or  five  inches  Once  a  year  this  sand  was  taken  out  and  a  fresh  layer  put  in. 
The  flocks  were  divided  into  little  flocks  of  about  a  dozen  hens  and  each 
room  was  kept  in  perfect  condition. 

Later  an  eastern  experimenter  tried  keeping  his  hens  confined  year  in 
and  year  out  in  little  houses  3x6  feet,  putting  six  hens  in  each  house.  These 
houses,  or  rather  coops,  have  a  window. in  the  south  side  and  a  wire  netting 
top  over  which  is  a  cover  of  muslin  and  a  roof.  The  roof,  the  muslin  cover 
and  the  wire  screen  are  all  made  so  they  can  be  lifted  easily  and  all  the  work 
of  caring  for  the  hens  is  done  from  the  outside  as  the  houses  are  but  two 
feet  high.  One-half  of  each  house  is  floored  and  the  other  half  has  no  floor. 
In  the  floored  end  is  the  nest  box  and  in  the  unfloored  end  the  grain  is  placed 
and  spaded  into  the  soil  so  the  hens  must  dig  it  out. 

The  writer  has  visited  two  plants  where  this  system  was  being  used  and 
in  both  of  them  the  birds  were,  to  all  appearances,  perfectly  healthy  and 
laying    as  well   as   could   be    wished.      As   these    houses   occupy   but   little   room 


20 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


i'I   BRAHMAS. 


:#/ 


Dark  Brahmas  originated  from  the  famous  Shanghai  strain  of  Light 
Brahmas  over  half  a  century  ago.  The  plumage  is  beautiful.  The  male 
having  the  breast  and  body  of  a  deep  black,  and  neck  and  hackle  of  Silver 
white  with  black  stripes  extending  down  the  middle  of  each  feather.  The 
female  has  a  hackle  of  same  color  as  the  male  with  a  body  covering  of 
gray  with  distinct  dark  pencilings  in  lines  which  conform  to  the  shape 
of  the  feathers.  Geo.  P.  Burnham  of  Massachusetts  is  given  credit  for 
producing  the  first  distinct  type  of  dark  Brahmas.  They  differ  from  the 
Light  Brahmas  only  in  size  and  color.  Standard  weights,  cock  11  pounds; 
hen  8%  pounds,  cockerel  9%  pounds,  pullets  7  pounds. 


it  is  possible  to  keep  a  large  flock  on  a  small  piece  of  land.  One  of  the  plants 
visited  was  owned  by  a  doctor  who  kept  about  200  fowls  on  a  town  lot  back 
of  his  house  and  these  paid  a  handsome  profit  on  their  cost.  The  houses  are 
set  in  rows  two  feet  apart  each  way  so  each  house  occupies  only  5x8  feet  of 
land.  If  a  whole  acre  was  covered  with  such  houses  there  would  be  about 
1,000  of  them  capable  of  accommodating  6,000  full  grown  fowls.  I  do  not  know 
of  a  plant  as  large  as  this  but  this  will  show  the  possibilities  of  an  acre  of 
land  under  the  most  intensive   system   of  poultry  culture. 

This  system  requires  considerable  work  as  every  duty  must  be  performed 
regularly  and  spading  the  grain  into  the  soil  in  each  coop  takes  more  time 
than  it  would  to  feed  a  much  larger  flock  in  the  ordinary  way.  For  one  who 
loves  poultry  and  is  interested  enough  to  take  proper  care  of  them  this 
system  allows  a  flock  of  100  to  be  kept  in  a  back  yard  and  the  work  need 
not  take  more  time  than  the  average  professional  man,  clerk  or  shop  worker 
can  find  mornings  and  evenings. 

Under  this  system  the  originator  uses  little  or  no  meat  feed  of  any  kind. 
He  feeds  wheat,  oats  and  corn  and  has  a  trough  of  dry  bran  in  each  house  to 
which  the  hens  can  go  at  any  time. 

A  plant  of  this  kind  returns  more  money  for  the  space  it  occupies  than  any 
other  form  of  out  of  door  work,  and  those  who  live  in  towns  can  keep  fowls 
enough    to    supply   the    family   with    poultry    and    eggs    and    have    both    to    sell 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA 


21 


COLONY  HOUSE,  NO.  5. 


without  going  to  extra  expense  for  land  on  which  to  keep  them.  The  hens 
occupy  but  little  space,  they  are  out  of  danger  and  kept  from  bothering  garden 
or  lawn. 

The  chicks  are  hatched  in  incubators  and  reared  in  brooders  until  they 
are  large  enough  to  sell  or  go  into  the  regular  laying  pens.  Quite  a  business 
in  supplying  the  market  with  broilers  might  be  done  in  a  back  yard  under,, this 
system. 

The  higher  part  was  used  as  a  sleeping  room  for  ten  full  grown  Plymouth 
Rocks  at  first.  Later  eight  more  hens  were  put  in  it,  making  eighteen.  This 
number  was  later  reduced  to  fourteen  as  four  were  culled  out. 

The  hens  were  put  into  this  house  just  six  feet  square  for  both  rooms. 
It  was  built  in  the  fall  and  after  the  hens  were  put  into  it  they  were  not  out 
of  it  until  five  months  later.  The  winter  of  1909-1910,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  a  severe  one,  yet  the  hens  in  this  house  were  not  touched  by  the  frost 
and  they  laid  all  winter.  The  leanto  with  its  muslin  roof  was  as  light  as  day 
and  the  sun  shining  squarely  down  on  it  made  it  as  warm  as  summer.  This 
leanto  was  protection  enough  for  the  muslin  window  of  the  sleeping  room 
to  prevent  that  room  from  ever  getting  cold.  The  sleeping  room  was  cleaned 
every  other  day  and  fresh  litter  was  put  in  the  leanto  at  frequent  intervals.    • 

In  many  places  a  back  yard  poultry  plant  is  surrounded  by  a  high  and 
tight  fence  or  is  protected  by  buildings  so  as  to  keep  cold  winds  off.  In 
such  places  a  simpler  form  of  a  house  may  be  used  and  this  same  house  is 
an  excellent  one  to  use  where  the  fowls  are  divided  into  small  flocks.  The 
illustration  shows  plainly  how  the  house  is  built  that  I  do  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  give  particular  directions  as  to  building  it.  For  convenience  in  refer- 
ring to  this  house  I  call  it  a  colony  house.  The  nests  are  built  just  above 
the  perches  and  so  arranged  that  a  hinged  board  drops  down  before  them  to 
prevent  the  hens  from  going  into  them  to  sleep.  As  will  be  seen  from  the 
illustration,  the  eggs  are  taken  from  the  nests  from  the  outside.  Where  it  is 
not  convenient  to  gather  the  eggs  several  times  a  day  in  cold  weather  it  is 
better  to  build  the  nests  inside  the  house  to  prevent  damage  to  the  eggs  in 
severe  weather. 

With  poultry  plant  operated  on  the  intensive  plan  it  is  entirely  possible 
to  produce  results  quite  worth  while.  One  poultryman  in  Pennsylvania  began 
on  one  vacant  lot  and  succeeded  so  well  that  he  rented  three  more  vacant  lots 
and  made  money  enough  off  the  fowls  he  kept  on  them  to  buy  them.  He 
then  planted  these  lots  to  peach  trees  and  began  to  keep  more  and  more  fowls 
on  them  until  at  last  he  made  such  a  good  reputation  breeding  fine  fowls 
that  he  sold  $1,200  worth  of  eggs  for  hatching  and  fowls  for  breeding  purposes 
in  one  year.  When  his  peach  trees  came  into  bearing  he  had  a  supply  of  this 
delicious  fruit  for  his  own  use  and  sold  a  good  many  in  the  market.  From 
this  little  plant  in  the   outskirts  of  a  town  this  young  man  did  a  business  that 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTEY  KEEPING  PAY 


COLONY  HOUSE,  NO.  5. 
Bear  View  of  Same  Showing  Trap  Nests. 


gave  him  a  wide  reputation  and  kept  his  family  in  comfort.  He  only  abandoned 
the  plant  when  the  lots  grew  so  valuable  that  he  could  not  afford  to  keep 
them  for  poultry  yards  any  longer.  He  then  sold  them  and  bought  a  farm  and  is 
now  a  prosperous  poultry  farmer.  If  he  had  not  had  a  love  for  fowls  and 
exercising  his  ingenuity  in  providing  for  them  in  small  quarters  he  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  still  working  in  an  office  at  $12  a  week.  He  owes  his 
whole  good  fortune  to  his  love  for  poultry  and  to  the  fact  that  he  was  not  dis- 
couraged about  getting  into  the  poultry  business  because  he  had  only  a  little 
place  in  which  to  keep  them. 

Another  young  man  who  worked  in  a  shop  in  a  western  town  had  a  liking 
for  poultry,  a  liking  in  which  his  wife  shared.  He  had  just  one  little  lot 
25x125  feet,  on  which  his  house  stood.  He  had  bought  this  house  and  lot  on  the 
installment  plan  and  was  working  hard  to  make  the  payments.  He  had  a 
space  25x125  feet  on  which  to  keep  poultry.  Along  one  side  on  the  lot  he 
built  a  small  poultry  house  and  used  one  end  of  his  lot  for  a  poultry  yard. 
He  took  care  of  the  birds  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  learn  and  saved  the 
money  he  made  from  them  to  use  in  paying  for  his  home.  The  first  year  he  did 
so  well  with  twenty-five  fowls  that  he  doubled  the  number  and  added  a  room 
to  his  poultry  house.  From  this  little  start  he  gradually  increased  the  number 
of  fowls  he  kept  until  he  had  400  on  one  city  lot  back  of  his  house  and  every 
one  of  them  was  healthy  and  vigorous.  He  neglected  no  duty,  kept  his  house 
and  yaids  absolutely  clean,  fed  the  birds  well  and  while  he  was  at  the  shop 
his  good  wife  watched  thechickens  to  see  that  everything  went  along  all  right. 
From  the  hens  in  this  back  yard  he  made  a  clear  profit  of  a  little  more  than 
$500  in  a  year  and  used  this  money  to  pay  f  o  •  another  lot.  He  is  thinking 
now  of  getting  out  of  the  shop  altogether  and  working  for  himself.  He  began 
in  a  small  way,  watched  other  poultrymen  at  their  work,  asked  questions  and 
profited  by  the  experience  of  others  until  he  has  made  himself  independent, 
although   he  began  with   only  a  few  dollars  and  grew  up  in  the  business. 

Let  no  one  be  discouraged  if  he  has  a  liking  for  poultry  because  he  has 
only  a  lit+le  back  yard.  If  he  uses  this  space  intelligently  he  will  be  able  to 
make  the  profits  of  that  back  yard  buy  him  a  larger  one  before  very  long. 

Nearly  every  successful  poultry-keeper  in  this  country  started  in  a  small 
way  and  enlarged  his  business  as  he  found  opportunities  to  do  so.  Almost 
every  failure  in  the  poultry  business  has  come  by  spending  a  large_  sum  to 
begin  with  and  overdoing  the  business  because  the  owner  had  no  experience. 

Do  not  forget  that  the  only  way  to  build  up  in  the  poultry  business  is 
to  begin  with  the  best  stock  that  you  can  buy.  Get  good  birds,  or  buy  good 
eggs,  even  if  you  have  only  money  enough  to  buy  a  pair  or  a  breeding  pen, 
of   birds    or    a   few    settings    of    eggs.      There    is    a    great    and   growing   demand 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


23 


AMERICAN  DOMINIQUES. 


One  of  the  oldest  breeds  known  in  this  country,  and  supposed  to  enter 
largely  in  the  makeup  of  the  Barred  Plymouth  Rocks.  In  color  they  are  a 
counterpart  of  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  but  in  shape  are  more  of  a  combination 
between  the  Wyandottes  and  Leghorns;  not  quite  so  sprightly  as  the 
latter,  but  having  many  of  the  rounded  curves  of  the  former.  They  have 
a  rose  comb  that  is  a  combination  between  the  Wyandottes  and  the 
Hamburgs.  The  breed  is  one  of  the  oldest;  is  bred  only  in  a  limited  way, 
and  but  few  good  specimens  are  found.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows: 
Cock  8  pounds,  cockerel  7  pounds,  hen  6  pounds,  pullet  5  pounds. 


for  the  best  pure-bred  poultry,  but  the  demand  for  "scrub"  stock  is  only  from 
the  food  market  and  the  prices  received  are  only  those  found  in  the  market 
quotations.  The  man  who  starts  with  pure-bred  fowls  will  gradually  find 
others  coming  to  him  for  fowls  or  eggs  at  prices  far  beyond  the  market  price 
and  this  reputation  will  spread  until  a  big  business  may  be  built  up  and  a 
competence  earned. 

I  always  like  to  watch  the  young  fellow  who  starts  out  under  unfavorable 
circumstances  tobuild  up  a  poultry  business  for  I  know  he  is  on  the  right 
road  and  will  succeed  if  he  follows  the  best  methods  and  tries  to  prove  his 
stock  every  year. 


Chapter  VI 

SELECTING  A  BREED. 


I  think  the  question  most  frequently  asked  me  is,  what  breed  is  best  for 
a  beginner.  This  is  a  question  that  every  one  must  answer  for  himself,  but 
my  long  experience  enables  me  to  give  some  general  advice  which  may  guide 
those  who  are  in   doubt  as  to   which  breed  they  should  select. 

±t  is  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  there  is  no  distinctively  best  breed  of 
fowls.  Every  recognized  breed  must  have  merit  or  it  never  would  have  made 
its  way   far  enough  to  have   become  recognized  as   a  distinctive  breed. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  a  large  number  of  new  breeds  have 
been  introduced  and  boomed.  Some  of  these  have  almost  passed  from  memory 
and  only  the  older  breeders  remember  the  "White  Wonders,"  the  "Ermin- 
ettes, "  the  "German  Antlers,"  the  "Pea  Comb  Plymouth  Rocks,"  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  breeds,  while  during  this  time  most  of  the  varieties  of  Wyan- 
dottes and  Plymouth  Rocks  have  been  originated  and  the  ten  varieties  of 
Orpingtons  have   been  introduced. 


24 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


PARTRIDGE   PLYMOUTH    ROCKS. 


One  of  the  newest  of  the  Plymouth  Rocks  originated  from  crosses  of 
Plymouth  Rocks  and  some  of  the  several  varieties  of  fowls  having  the 
color  of  the  Partridge  Cochin.  General  characteristics  the  same  as  the 
Barred  Rocks.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  9%  pounds, 
cockerel  8  pounds,  hen  iy2  pounds,  pullet  6%  pounds. 


There  are  a  number  of  still  recognized  breeds  which  have  almost  dis- 
appeared. Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  Javas,  Black  and  Mottled, 
the  Redcaps  and  several  of  the  Hamburg  vrieties.  The  American  Standard 
of  Perfection  once  gave  a  place  to  a  variety  known  as  Jersy  Blues  but  these 
have  entirely  disappeared  while  the  "White  Javas  were  swallowed  up  by  the 
White  Plymouth  Rocks.  The  breeds  that  were  once  popular  but  have  now 
dropped  out  disappeared  because  they  were  superceded  by  breeds  with  greater 
merit. 

The  beginner  should  decide  before  starting  what  he  most  desires  to 
accomplish  before  selecting  his  breed.  If  he  wants  eggs  for  market  he  will 
find  the  Leghorns  in  all  varieties  good  layers.  The  Leghorns  are  not  first-class 
market  fowls  because  they  are  rather  too  small  for  market  purposes,  although 
where  one  lives  where  chickens  or  broilers  are  in  good  demand  Leg- 
horns will  prove  profitable  as  market  fowls  because  the  young  chicks  grow  to 
broiler   size   as   quickly   or  more   quickly   than   almost   any   other   breed. 

Minorcas  are  good  layers  of  fine,  large  white  eggs.  The  eggs  of  the 
Minorca  fowl  will  weigh  almost  50  per  cent  more  than  those  of  the  Leghorn 
family  and  where  a  private  egg  trade  is  to  be  built  up  Minorca  eggs  will 
hold  the  trade  against  any  other  breed,  except,  possibly  the  Light  Brahma 
and  Langshan,  these  two  breeds  laying  eggs  fully  as  large  as  those  of  the 
Minorca  fowl.  Within  three  or  four  years  the  interest  in  Minorca  has  grown 
amazingly  and  there  is  a  good  demand  for  breeding  stock,  assuring  the  one 
who  produces  it  a  ready  sale  at  good  prices. 

Another  good  laying  breed  is  the  Houdan.  This  breed  is  reputed  to  be 
among   the   best   table    fowls,   on    account    of   its   deep   breast    and   thick   thighs. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


25 


BLACK  LANGSHANS. 


Langshans  were  originally  imported  from  China  and  are  today  one  of 
the  most  popular  fowls  of  the  Orient.  No  variety  of  fowls  ever  gained 
popularity  faster  since  their  importation.  The  Langshans  are  large,  stylish 
birds,  with  ear  lobes  and  combs  glowing  against  their  glossy  black  feathers, 
foim  a  striking  contrast.  They  attain  maturity  as  early  as  any  if  the 
large  breeds,  lay  large,  rich  eggs  the  year  around,  and  are  not  persistent 
sitters.  They  make  an  excellent  table  fowl,  for  delicacy  of  flavor,  white 
flesh  and  skin  especially.  They  are  large  in  size  and  well  built,  and  make 
good  mothers,  continuously  looking  after  the  young.  Chicks  when  first 
hatched  are  about  half  white  which  is  no  indication  of  impurity  of  stock. 

Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  10  pounds,  cockerel  8  pounds, 
hen  7  pounds,  pullet  6  pounds. 


The  eggs  of  the  Houdan  are  large  and  pure  white.  Leghorns,  Minorcas  and 
Houdans  can  not  be  depended  on  to  sit  and  their  eggs  must  be  hatched  by 
other    breeds    of   hens    or    in    incubators. 

If  the  beginner  is  seeking  a  general  purpose  breed  he  has  an  opportunity 
to  choose  from  a  number  of  breeds  and  many  varieties.  Among  the  general 
purpose  breeds  are  Plymouth  Eocks,  Wyandottes,  Rhode  Island  Reds  Orpingtons 
and  Langshans. 

The  Plymouth  Rock  is  the  oldest  of  the  distinctly  American  breeds  and 
the  most  popular  of  the  general  purpose  families.  The  .Barred  Plymouth 
Rock  is  an  old  favorite  which  has  never  been  driven  from  its  position  as 
the  leading  American  breed.  It  has  a  color  that  makes  a  beautiful  fowl, 
yet  does  not  show  stains  or  appear  ragged  as  do  the  feathers  of  other  breeds. 
It  has  the  yellow  skin  Americans  like,  good  table  qualities  and  is  a  hardy 
bird.  It  is  a  fairly  good  layer,  a  good  sitter  but  not  a  persistent  one,  and  is  a 
dependable  fowl  altogether.  The  White  Plymouth  Rock  is  a  good  second  to  the 
Barred  variety  and  may  be  said  to  be  its  equal  for  all  practical  purposes.  It 
is  a  sport  from  the  original  variety  and  is  a  very  popular  variety.  The  Buff 
Plymouth  Rock  excels  as  a  layer,  but  is  rather  more  persistent  as  a  sitter  than 
the  Barred  or  White  varieties.  It  originated  in  the  same  part  of  the  country 
that  produced  the  Rhode  Island  Red,  and  is  of  similar  origin  if  not  identical. 
The  hens  lay  well  in  winter  and  endure  cold  excellently.  They  now  breed  quite 
true  to  color  and  are  a  very  desirable  kind  of  fowls. 

The  other  varieties  of  Plymouth  Rocks  have  not  made  much  headway  and 
are  not  yet  old  enough  to  have  an  established  reputation.     So  far  they  are  largely 


26 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


BLACK  COCHINS. 


Black  Cochins  are  like  the  other  Cochin  varieties  except  in  color  of 
plumage.  Every  feather  is  a  deep  lustrous  black,  with  a  green  sheen 
showing  on  surface.  Standard  weights:  Cock  11  pounds,  cockerel  9 
pounds,  hen  8y2  pounds,  pullet  7  pounds. 


in  the  hands  of  fanciers  and  the  beginner  can  afford  to  wait  before  investing 
largely  in  them. 

The  Wyandottes  are  another  American  family  of  birds.  Like  the  Plymouth 
Rocks  their  origin  is  unknown.  The  Silver  Wyandotte,  commonly  called  the 
Silver  Laced  Wyandotte,  is  the  original  variety.  It  is  a  pound  lighter  that  the 
Plymouth  Rock,  but  is  perhaps  a  little  superior  as  a  layer  and  not  quite  so  per- 
sistent as  a  sitter.  This  variety  is  no  tas  popular  as  it  was  a  few  years  ago  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  breeding  it  true  to  color. 

The  White  Wyandotte  is  the  most  popular  member  of  the  Wyandotte  family. 
Its  short,  plump  body  makes  it  a  popular  market  fowl  and  its  early  maturity 
brings  it  into  market  early  when  spring  chickens  are  the  object  sought.  It  has 
become  very  popular  as  an  egg  layer  and  as  a  market  fowl. 

The  Buff  Wyandotte  has  no  Wyandotte  blood  in  it.  It  originated  about  the 
same  time  that  the  Buff  Plymouth  Rock  was  brought  out  and  came  from  the 
same  part  of  the  country.  The  Rose  Comb  Rhode  Island  Red  is  a  near  relative 
of  the  Buff  Wyandotte,  both  having  come  from  Rhode  Island  and  the  writer 
remembers  when  Buff  Wyandottes  which  happened  to  be  too  red  to  pass  for  buff 
birds  were  used  to  improve  the  head  of  Rose  Comb  Rhode  Island  Reds.  The 
Buff  Wyandotte  breeds  very  true  to  color,  is  easily  kept,  endures  cold  weather 
very  well  and  lays  a  large  number  of  eggs.  It  is  quite  persistent  as  a  sitter  and 
an  excellent  mother.  A  flock  of  well-bred  Buff  Wyandottes  attracts  attention 
anywhere  and  the  breeder  who  keeps  good  ones  will  find  a  ready  market  for  his 
surplus  stock  at  high  prices. 

Rhode  Island  Reds  are  very  popular  and  they  are  a  good  breed.  The  Single 
Combs  are  more  popular  than  the  Rose  Combs  and  seem  to  breed  a  little  truer 
to  type  and  color,  but  the  difference  is  not  great.  Rhode  Island  Reds  are  rather 
hard  to  breed  true  to  color  and  type,  but  they  are  not  at  all  hard  to  breed  to 
big  laying  records  and  are  probably  the  best  layers  in  the  American  class  of 
fowls.     They  are  deep  red  in  color  and  good  specimens  sell  at  a  high  price,  but 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA  27 

they  are  likely  to  breed  uneven  in  color  so  they  are  as  yet  a  better  market  fowl 
than  one  for  beginners  to  select  for  fancy  purposes.  Yet  as  poultry  and  eggs  are 
the  foundation  stones  on  which  the  poultry  business  rests  this  breed  is  one  of 
the  very  best  for  the  beginner  to  select,  as  it  will  bring  him  sure  returns  in  mar- 
ket prices  for  the  product  of  his  poultry  yards  while  he  is  learning  the  secrets  of 
the  business.  The  breed  is  hardy,  the  hens  are  layers  and  good  sitters — rather 
too  good  I  sometimes  think.  They  endure  neglect  better  than  any  other  breed 
and  are  rustlers  for  themselves  when  they  get  a  chance  to  forage. 

The  Orphingtons  have  been  brought  out  in  ten  varieties,  but  only  three  va- 
rieties need  take  any  of  our  time.  The  Black  Orphington  is  a  magnificent  fowl, 
beetle  green  gleams  flashing  from  its  black  plumage,  deep  in  body,  hardy  and  a 
fairly  good  layer  it  deserves  all  the  attention  it  gets.  The  Buff  Orphington  is 
probably  more  popular  than  the  Black,  but  it  does  not  breed  quite  true  to  color 
and  Orphington  type,  being  inclined  to  come  a  little  long  in  the  legs  and  some- 
what deficient  in  back  shape.  However,  the  Buff  Orphington  has  many  friends 
and  deserves  consideration.  It  has  white  shanks  and  a  white  skin,  which  is 
somewhat  against  it  from  the  American  point  of  view,  but  it  is  a  good  variety 
and  is  reputed  to  be  a  very  good  winter  layer,  while  as  a  market  fowl  it  will 
no  doubt  take  a  high  place  as  soon  as  enough  of  the  variety  is  sent  to  market  to 
make    a    showing. 

The  White  Orphington  is  having  run  in  popular  favor  just  now  and  it  cer- 
tainly is  a  beautiful  bird.  It  is  massive  in  build,  strong  in  body,  deep  breasted, 
hardy  and  a  good  layer.  This  is  enough  to  indicate  that  it  will  take  a  promi- 
nent place  before  many  years  in  the  poultry  yards  of  this  country. 

The  Light  Brahma  was  once  a  very  popular  variety,  and  is  as  good  today 
as  it  ever  was,  but  for  some  reason  it  has  declined  in  numbers  and  importance. 
It  is  comparatively  rare  in  the  West  and  not  numerous  in  the  East.  It  matures 
slowly,  but  is  very  highly  esteeme  das  a  table  fowl  and  Light  Brahma  hens  have 
made  as  good  records  as  layers  as  has  ever  been  made  by  any  other  breed.  They 
are  the  heaviest  breed  of  fowls  we  have. 

Langshans  are  among  our  best  fowls.  They  are  pure  black,  the  feathers 
throwing  off  greenish  reflections  when  viewed  in  the  right  light.  They  are  dis- 
tinctively different  in  shape  from  any  other  variety  of  fowls  and  are  now  bred 
almost  exactly  as  they  were  found  in  China  about  thi  ty  years  ago.  They  lay 
very  large  eggs  and  are  the  very  best  winter  layers  we  have. 

The  Cochins,  Hamburgs,  Polish  and  French  fowls,  except  the  Houdans,  are 
not  extensively  bred  any  more  except  for  fancy  purposes.  In  fairness  I  might 
say  that  those  who  breed  fine  specimens  of  almost  any  of  these  breeds  are  always 
able  to  sell  their  stock  at  good  figures,  but  they  are  not  really  fowls  for  be- 
ginners. 

The  above  are  probably  all  of  the  breeds  of  chickens  that  we  need  refer 
to  in  this  connection.  The  list  includes  enough  to  enable  anyone  to  select 
a  breed  to  suit  his  particular  fancy,  and  after  all,  the  beginner  should  be  guided 
by  his  likes  and  dislikes  for  he  will  succeed  better  with  a  breed  that  suits  his 
fancy  than  with  one  he  takes  up  just  because  some  one  has  recommended  it  to 
him. 


Getting  a  Start. 


The  matter  of  the  variety  to  be  bred  having  been  settled  the  beginner  be- 
gins to  study  about  the  best  way  to  start.  Shall  he  buy  fowls  and  hatch  the 
eggs  from  them  or  would  it  be  better  to  buy  eggs  from  some  breeder  of  the 
variety  he  has  selected  and  begin  that  way.  There  really  is  but  little  choice  be- 
tween the  two  ways.  If  he  buys  really  good  stock  he  can  buy  a  breeding  pen  of 
one  male  and  four  females  and  make  a  good  start.  Say  he  desires  to  begin  by 
investing  $50.  This  would  buy  him  a  dozen  pure  bred  fowls  or  a  breeding  pen 
of  fine  quality.  Some  good  breeders  would  sell  him  a  fine  breeding  pen  for  half 
the  sum  named.  Of  such  a  moderate-priced  man  he  could  buy  a  dozen  females 
and  a  fine  male  for  his  fifty  dollars.  In  such  a  case  he  would  be  ready  to  hatch 
any  number  of  chicks  up  to  200  or  300  the  first  season  and  with  $50  a  beginner 
could  have  a  fine  flock  of  laying  hens  six  months  after  he  began  operations  and 
be  ready  to  begin  business.  For  one  who  desires  to  start  in  this  way  and  with 
this  sum  buying  stock  is  probably  the  best  way. 

If  one  has  only  a  few  dollars  to  invest  at  first  it  is  probably  better  to  buy 


28  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 

eggs.  Ten  dollars  will  buy  100  pure-bred  eggs  from  good  reliable  breeders. 
These  will  not  be  eggs  from  the  largely  advertised  flocks  of  breeders  who  sell 
at  very  high  prices,  but  they  will  be  from  good  quality  pure-bred  birds  and  from 
them  a  good  start  can  be  made.  From  100  eggs  at  least  75  chicks  should  be 
hatched  and  of  these  70  should  be  raised.  If  they  are  equally  divided  as  to 
sex,  there  will  be  thirty-five  pullets  and  from  these  he  will  be  able  to  select  a 
very  fine  breding  pen  from  which  to  hatch  the  next  year. 

One  of  the  beauties  of  the  poultry  business  is  that  the  flock  increases  rapidly 
and  the  beginner  need  not  wait  long  before  he  can  raise  a  flock  for  himself  as 
large  as  he  can  find  room  for. 

Any  good  breeder  will  gladly  give  the  beginner  advice  as  to  how  to  select 
his  matings  so  as  to  improve  his  flock.  As  a  rule  it  is  best  to  continue  to  buy 
of  the  same  breeder  each  year  that  new  stock  is  needed  as  this  keeps  the  flock 
bred  along  the  original  lines.  Line-breeding  is  the  only  way  to  build  up  a  re- 
liable strain  of  fowls  always  are  better  layers  and  better  show  birds  than  stock 
that  has  been  bred  in  a  hit-and-miss  way. 


VII 


HATCHING  AND  REARING  CHICKS. 


Some  one  has  said  that  it  is  the  right  of  every  child  to  be  born  well.  Just 
the  same  it  should  be  the  aim  of  the  poultryman  that  every  chick  should  be 
hatched  well.  There  are  just  two  ways  to  hatch  chicks;  in  an  incubator  and 
under  a  hen.  I  name  the  incubator  first  because  it  is  coming  to  be  the  best  way 
all  things  considered. 

The  beginner  sends  for  incubator  catalogues  and  finds  that  one  manufacturer 
tells  him  a  hot  water  machine  is  the  only  kind  to  use  and  another  claims  that  the 
hot  air  system  is  best.  One  uses  moisture  in  his  machine  and  the  other  does  not 
and  every  one  claims  to  build  the  best  incubator  ever  made.  The  exact  truth 
is  that  almost  every  one  of  the  modern  incubators  will  do  good  work  if  direc- 
tions are   followed.     Of  course,  some   hatch  better  than   others. 

Personally  I  prefer  the  hot  water  system  because  I  believe  it  is  easiest  to 
operate  successfully.  I  have  had  long  experience  in  building  incubators  and  in- 
vnted  one  of  the  best  hot  air  machines,  but  in  the  end  I  went  back  to  the  hot 
water  system  as  being  the  best  for  the  beginner,  because  the  volume  of  hot  water 
in  the  tank  prevents  sudden  changes  of  temperature  in  the  egg  chamber. 

Every  incubator  maker  sends  directions  for  using  the  machine  he  makes  to 
every  buyer  and  in  the  main  these  directions  should  be  followed,  because  the 
machines  have  different  systems  of  heating,  different  systems  of  ventilation  and 
differences  in  the  egg-chambers  and  other  parts  and  the  directions  are  given  to 
suit  these  differences  in  construction. 

A  few  general  directions  may  be  given  as  they  apply  to  all  machines. 

Any  incubator  works  best  in  a  room  where  the  temperature  does  not  vary 
widely  during  the  twenty-four  hours  of  the   day. 

A  room  with  only  northern  windows  is  best  as  the  sun  should  never  shine  di- 
rectly on  an  incubator  in  operation.  No  regulator  can  regulate  when  the  sun 
adds  its  heat  to  that  of  the  lamp. 

Remember  that  the-  regulator  on  an  incubator  is  very  sensitive  and  is  only 
made  to  regulate  the  heat  through  a  few  degrees  of  temperature.  If  the  lamp 
is  turned  too  low  the  regulator  cannot  add  any  heat  to  it  or  if  it  is  turned  too 
high  no  regulator  will  cut  off  enough  heat  to  keep  the  temperature  down  to  the 
proper  place. 

Start  the  incubator  without  eggs  in  it  and  run  it  until  the  regulation  is 
learned  and  it  can  be  kept  at  the  proper  temperature. 

When  the  eggs  are  put  in  the  temperature  will  run  down  almost  at  oncee, 
because  the  cold  eggs  cools  the  egg-chamber.  Do  not  change  the  regulator,  but 
let  the  eggs  warm  up  to  the  proper  temperature  when  the  regulator  will  hold  it 
there. 

If  the  temperature  goes  down  or  up  do  not  change  the  regulator  too  much. 
Change  it  for  higher  or  lower  temperature  a  little  at  a  time  until  it  holds  the 
heat  at  the  proper  place. 

Turn  the  eggs  twice  a  day  and  do  this  deliberately,  taking  the  egg  tray  out 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


29 


^■■V 


BARRED  PLYMOUTH  ROCKS. 


The  Barred  Plymouth  Rocks  are  of  American  origin,  having  originated 
from  a  cross  of  American  Dominques  and  Black  Javas.  They  stand  ac- 
knowledged as  the  best  general  purpose  fowl.  They  are  hardy,  grow 
rapidly,  and  make  plump,  juicy  broilers  at  the  age  of  eight  to  ten  weeks. 
As  a  fanciers'  fowl  they  have  reached  a  popularity  never   before  known. 

Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  9y2  pounds,  cockerel  8  pounds, 
hen  7%   pounds,  pullet  6%   pounds. 


and  shutting  the  door.  Eggs  hatch  better  when  cooled  every  day.  They  should 
be  allowed  to  cool  from  ten  to  thirty  minutes  each  day  according  to  the  weather. 

Do  not  worry  if  the  temperature  should  fall  to  90  degrees  for  a  few  hours, 
but  be  careful  to  keep  it  below  105  as  that  temperature  will  kill  the  chicks  in  a 
little  while. 

Do  not  keep  changing  the  regulator  back  and  forth  more  than  is  absolutely 
necessary,  and  do  not  open  the  machine  except  when  you  must. 

Read  the  directions  of  the  manufacturer  until  you  know  them  thoroughly 
and  follow  them  closely- 

If  the  machine  does  not  give  a  good  hatch  do  not  call  the  manufacturer 
names.  He  could  not  sell  enough  machines  to  make  it  pay  him  if  he  did  not 
sell  good  ones  and  nineteen  times  in  twenty  a  poor  hatch  is  due  to  the  eggs  or  the 
operator  and  not  to  the   machine. 

Use  the  very  best  oil.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  anything  but  the  best,  for 
without  good  oil   a  steady   temperature  is  impossible. 

Trim  and  fill  the  lamp  every  evening  and  watch  the  temperature  for  a  while 
after  this,  as  very  often  a  freshly  trimmed  lamp  gives  out  much  more  heat  than 
one  that  has  been  burning  a  day. 


30 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


BUFF  COCHINS. 


These  are  large,  massive  fowls,  profusely  feathered,  and  have  a  very 
fine  carriage.  They  are  very  good  layers,  and  will,  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, compare  well  with  the  Leghorn  class  for  winter  laying,  while  for 
a  market  fowl  they  far  exceed  them.  Like  all  Asiatics,  they  are  rather 
later  maturing  than  Jhose  of  the  American  class,  but  I  have  taken  great 
pains  and  spared  no  expense  to  produce  Buffs  which  are  of  special  merit 
in  early  maturing,  plumage  and  size.  Tehy  are  of  a  rich  bull  or  golden 
color.  They  are  heavily  feathered  and  well  adapted  to  cold  climates.  They 
breed  true  to  color  and  are  very  docile  fowls,  can  be  easily  yarded  by 
low  fence  of  wire  netting.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  11 
pounds,  cockerel  9  pounds,  hen  8%  pounds,  pullet  7  pounds. 


Keep  the  temperature  at  102  the  first  week,  103  the  second  and  the  third 
week  if  it  runs  up  to  104,  do  not  worry,  for  the  animal  heat  of  the  chicks  in  the 
shell  will  run  the  temperature  up.  In  very  warm  weather  it  is  often  necessary 
to  put  the  lamp  out  during  the  hottest  part  of  the  day  as  the  heat  of  the  chicks 
will  keep  the  egg-chamber  hot  enough. 

When  the  eggs  begin  to  pip  keep  the  machine  shut.  Let  them  get  out  of  the 
shell  without  help  as  a  chick  that  must  be  helped  from  the  shell  is  not  worth 
bothering  with.  Let  them  gasp  and  crawl  around  as  much  as  they  will  for  this 
gives  them  strength. 

When  a  very  good  hatch  is  coming  off  it  is  sometimes  best  to  take  some  of 
the  chicks   out,  but  this  should  be  done  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Turn  the  eggs  the  first  time  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  after  they  are 
put  in  the  incubator  and  the  last  time  on  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth  day. 

Get  good  eggs  from  thrifty  and  vigorous  hens,  do  your  part  and  the  machine 
is  almost  sure  to  give  you  a  satisfactory  hatch. 


Hatching  With  Hens. 


iTotwithstanding  that  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  incubators  in  use, 
a  large  majority  of  the  chicks  hatched  are   still  hatched  by  hens. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  set  several  hens  at  a  time  and  when  the  chicks  are 
hatched  give  each  one  fifteen  chicks  and  put  the  hens  for  which  there  are  no 
chicks  back  into  the  laying  yards.  It  is  a  waste  of  time  to  have  a  hen  going 
around  with  half  a  brood  of  chicks. 

Put  the  sitting  hens  into  a  room  by  themselves  and  make  the  nests  so  the 
hens  can  be  shut  on  them.     This  will  prevent  them  from  changing  nests  or  two 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA 


31 


ROSE  COMB  BROWN  LEGHORNS. 


For  a  handsome  bird  and  for  egg  producers,  the  Leghorn  stands  at 
the  head.  There  is  no  breed  of.  fowls  that  lay  so  many  eggs  with  so 
little  feed.  Both  the  Rose  and  Single  Comb  Leghorns  were  originally 
imported  from  Leghorn,  a  seaport  in  Italy  (hence  their  name).  The  Rose 
and  Single  Comb  varieties  are  exactly  alike  in  every  respect  except  the 
comb.  The  Rose  Comb  Leghorns  are  of  a  medium  size,  have  beautiful 
g^ay  plumage,  white  ear  lobes  and  yellow  legs,  are  symmetrical  in  form, 
and  very  attractive  and  pleasing  in  appearance,  are  very  hardy  and  chicks 
are  easily  raised  on  free  range.  They  are  good  foragers  and  pullets  lay  at 
an  early  age. 


of  them  from  getting  into  one  nest  and  breaking  a  lot  of  eggs.  ,  Feed  them  at 
noon  each  day,  shutting  them  off  the  nest  while  they  are  feeding  and  shutting 
them  on  again  after, they  have  had  their  feed.  Whole  corn  is  the  best  feed  for 
sitting  hens.  Give  them  corn,  water,  grit  and  a  box  of  dust  to  wallow  in  and 
leave  them  off  the  nest  from  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes  each  day. 

See  that  each  hen  goes  back  on  her  own  nest  and  then  shut  them  on  until 
the  next  feeding  time.  In  a  few  days  they  will  learn  the  routine  and  be  easy 
to  handle. 

The  best  nest  material  is  first  make  a  shallow  nest  of  garden  soil,  patting 
it  down  firmly  and  smoothly  into  a  saucer  shape.  Over  this  put  a  layer  of  fine 
straw.  The  soil  may  be  quite  damp  when  put  into  the  nest  box,  as  the  dampness 
is  natural  to  the  nest  of  a  hen  which  is  one  of  the  birds  that  naturally  builds 
rts  nest  on  the  ground. 

No  hen  can  hatch  healthy  chicks  from  eggs  that  are  not  all  right.  See 
that  the  eggs  are  from  strong  and  healthy  hens,  not  too  fat,  nor  yet  half- 
starved 

About  all  the  trouble  that  comes  to  the  young  chick  can  be  traced  back  to 
carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  one  who  takes  care  of  the  incubator  or  the  sitting 


32  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


SINGLE  COMB   RHODE  ISLAND  REDS. 


The  Rhode  Island  Red  is  becoming  more  popular  every  year.  This 
breed  is  now  bred  down  until  it  comes  quite  true  to  color,  and  I  do  not 
know  of  a  prettier  color  among  fowls  than  that  of  the  well-bred  Rhode 
Island  Reds.  This  breed  may  be  said  to  have  made  itself  as  it  was 
made  up  by  mixing  several  breeds  and  then  selecting  the  hardiest  and 
best  egg-laying  specimens  to  breed  from.  The  breed  having  originated 
along  the  stormy  shores  of  the  Rhode  Island  sea  coast,  it  is  very  hardy 
and  is  among  the  very  best  of  our  winter  layers.  As  a  table  fowl  it 
ranks  high  and  as  a  mother  it  does  its  whole  duty.  There  is  no  difference 
in  the  two  varieties.  The  Single  Comb  variety  has  a  neat,  small  comb, 
small  enough  to  escape  the  danger  from  frost  that  larger  combs  are 
liable  to.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  8%  pounds,  cockerel 
7Y2  pounds,  hen  6%  pounds,  pullet  5  pounds. 


hens  or  to  eggs  that  were  produced  by  hens  out  of  condition.  A  chick  that  comes 
from  the  shell  plump  and  covered  with  long  down  is  able  to  resist  the  diseases 
of  chiekenhood  much  better  than  one  that  is  hatched  in  a  dried  and  shriveled 
condition. 


Operating  a  Brooder. 


When  chicks  are  hatched  in  an  incubator  they  must  be  reared  in  a  brooder 
and  many  poultrymen  who  use  hens  to  hatch  with  take  the  chicks  away  from 
the  hens  and  put  them  in  brooders,  because  it  is  less  trouble  to  care  for  them 
and  the   chicks  grow  better   and   faster. 

Before  using  the  brooder  wash  it  with  some  disinfectant.  Any  coal  tar  dis- 
infectant will  do,  and  any  druggist  will  supply  it  and  give  directions  for  using  it. 

Wash  the  brooder  all  over  the  inside  with  the  disinfectant  and  let  it  dry  be- 
fore using  it. 

Get  the  temperature  up  to  about  90  degrees  before  putting  the  chicks  in. 

Do  not  feed  the  chicks  until  they  are  two  days  old.  This  is  nature's  way 
and  no  improvement  can  be  made  on  it. 

Feed  cracked  wheat,  steel  cut  oatmeal  or  stale  bread  crumbs  at  first,  giving 
fine  grit  and  water  from  the  first  feed. 

I  have  found  the  prepared  chick  feeds  very  good.  They  may  seem  to  be  a 
little  costly,  but  I  know  it  pays  to  use  them. 

Let  the  temperature  run  down  gradually  until  at  three  weeks  it  is  about 
65  degrees  where  it  can  be  held  as  long  as  the  chicks  are  in  the  brooder.     As  the 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA  33 


SINGLE  COMB  BUFF  ORPHINGTONS. 


The  Single  Comb  Buff  Orpingtons  are  becoming  a  very  popular  breed. 
They  have  been  a  leading  breed  in  England  for  a  number  of  years,  in 
fact,  they  are  as  popular  there  as  the  Barred  Plymouth  Bocks  are  in 
America.  As  a  general  purpose  fowl  they  are  very  good.  They  have  a 
rich  buff  plumage.  As  good  as  any  of  the  buff  varieties.  They  are  also 
good  layers.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  10  pounds,  cockerel 
8Y2  pounds,  hen  8  pounds,  pullet  7  pounds. 


chicks  grow  the  brooder  will  require  less  heat  from  the  lamp,  but  the  temperature 
should  be   kept   quite   regular. 

Do  not  feed  very  young  chicks  too  much  at  first.  Feed  them  rather  sparing- 
ly, but  often  for  the  first  week.  They  should  be  fed  five  times  a  day,  but  only 
as  much  as  they  will  eat  in  an  hour.  Leave  nothing  before  them  that  they 
can  eat  except  what  you  give  them,  as  they  will  pick  up  and  swallow  almost 
anything  until  they  learn  to  select  their  feed. 

After  the  fourth  day  give  the  chicks  some  kind  of  vegetable  feed,  such  as 
boiled  potatoes  or  cabbage  cut  fine.  After  things  begin  to  grow  in  the  spring, 
lettuce  or  dandelion  leaves,  cut  fine,  make  very  good  feeds  for  young  chicks. 
They  may  be  allowed  to  eat  as  much  as  they  will  of  these  green  things  as  they 
are  both  feed  and  medicine  for  them. 

Meat  feed  is  almost  absolutely  necessary  to  growing  chicks.  They  can  be 
raised  without  it,  but  they  will  grow  much  better  with  it.  The  only  substitute 
for  meat  is  milk  and  the  best  way  to  feed  this  is  to  let  it  sour  and  make  cottage 
•cheese  of  it  and  feed  the  chicks.  When  this  is  done  make  the  cheese  just  as  it 
would  be  made  for  the  table,  except  that  butter  and  cream  are  not  necessary 
It  should  be  salted  as  it  would  be  for  the  table.  Where  sour  milk  or  buttermilk 
are  convenient,  there  is  nothing  better  than  cottage  cheese  for  the  young  birds. 
It  is  a  perfect  substitute  for  meat. 

Where  meat  is  fed  let  it  be  about  10  per  cent  of  the  feed  that  is  given  them. 
It  is  better  to  pay  5  cents  for  a  pound  of  beef  scrap  than  it  is  to  try  to  raise 
chicks  without  it,  if  milk  is  not  to  be  had  in  its  place. 

At  three  weeks  the  chicks  may  be  fed  a  little  whole  wheat  and  cracked 
corn   every  day,  gradually  increasing  the   amount  until  these   are  the   principal 


34  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


WHITE    COCHINS. 


White  Cochins  are  more  to  the  fanciers'  taste,  because  of  the  pure 
white  plumage,  which  makes  it  very  attractive,  yet  very  few  White 
Cochins  are  bred.  They  have  the  same  characteristics  as  the  other  Cochin 
varieties,  the  only  difference  being  in  color  of  plumage.  Standard  weights 
■are  as  follows:  Cock  11  pounds,  cockerel  9  pounds,  hen  8y2  pounds,  pullet 
7  pounds. 


grain  feeds  they  get.  Put  chick  grit,  crushed  charcoal  and  oyster  shells  in  sep- 
arate boxes  where  they  can  get  all  they  want  of  them  and  beef  scrap  may  be 
fed  in  the  same  way. 

By  the  time  the  chicks  are  four  weeks  old  they  will  be  able  to  handle  whole 
wheat,  kaffir  corn  or  cracked  corn  easily,  and  they  should  be  then  fed  as  much 
as  they  will  eat.  I  do  not  believe  much  in  soft  feeds,  except  for  fattening  chicks 
or  old  fowls  for  market. 

Where  a  lot  of  pullets  are  being  raised  for  layers  we  want  them  to  grow 
strong  bodies  and  big  bones  and  whole  grain  and  beef  scrap  will  make  these. 
Pullets  intended  for  the  laying  yards  should  be  raised  on  as  large  a  range  as  pos- 
sible. This  gives  them  the  strength  that  comes  from  exercise.  If  they  must  be 
raised  in  pens  make  them  scratch  for  all  the  grain  they  get  and  feed  them  all 
the  green  feed  they  will  eat.  Fresh  green  grass  or  clover  cut  into  short  lengths 
will  make  them  healthy  and  make  them  grow  and  the  good  poultryman  will  see 
that  yarded  chicks  get  all  they  will  eat. 

Even  very  young  chicks  should  be  kept  in  little  covered  runs  made  of  wire 
netting  where  they  can  get  green  grass  to  pick  at  and  these  runs  should  be 
moveof  to  fresh  grass  every  day.  This  is  a  little  trouble,  but  it  pays  a  big  wage 
for  the  time  taken  to  do  it. 

Be  sure  and  give  water  regularly.  This  is  as  important  as  any  other  part  of 
the  feeding. 

Feed  Formulas. 


Below  we  give  some  of  the  most  approved  feed  formulas.  Most  of  the  chick 
feeds  are  made  after  these  formulas  and  they  have  been  proved  good  many  times. 
I  know  of  one  man  who  paid  a  large  sum  for  one  of  these  formulas  and  was 
satisfied  that  he  got  his  money's  worth.  Buyers  of  this  book  get  it  for  a  frac- 
tion of  a  cent. 

Cracked    Wheat    25   pounds 

Cracked    Corn    12  pounds 

Millet  Seed    10  pounds 

Kaffir    Corn     25  pounds 

Oat  Meal    10  pounds 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


35 


LIGHT    BRAMAS. 


Felch,  Gold  Coin  and  Shaw  Strains. 

The  Light  Brahmas,  by  unchallenged  right,  stand  at  the  lead  of  all 
thoroughbred  poultry.  During  the  past  thirty  years,  while  all  other  breeds 
have  had  their  "ups  and  downs"  the  Light  Brahmas  have  stood  their  own 
ground,  and  today  are  as  much  praised  and  as  highly  recommended  to  the 
general  breeder  as  they  were  thirty  years  ago.  Any  breed  that  can  stand 
the  test  of  rivalry  so  long  and  still  continue  to  satisfy  and  please  the 
thousands  breeding  them  must  have  qualities  of  a  high  order.  They  are 
the  largest  of  all  our  poultry,  and  furnish  more  pounds  of  flesh  and  eggs 
in  twelve  months  than  any  other  breed  of  fowls  on  earth.  They  are  well 
adapted  for  all  purposes,  and  are  so  gentle,  handsome  and  practical  one 
cannot  help  but  like  them. 

Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  12  pounds,  cockerel  10  pounds, 
hen  9%  pounds,  pullet  8  pounds. 


Hemp    Seed    2  pounds 

Sunflower    Seed    2  pounds 

The  sunflower  seed  and  hempseed  may  be  omitted  if  they  are  not  convenient. 
Sometimes  10  per  cent  of  screened  beef  scrap  is  added,  but  I  prefer  to  feed  this 
separately.  A  good  many  manufacturers  load  their  prepared  seed  feed  with  grit. 
This  is  cheap  and  it  is  very  profitable  to  them  to  add  the  grit  to  the  feed  as  it 
sells  at  about  six  times  as  much  as  could  be  got  for  it  alone.  When  one  is  mak- 
ing it  the  grit  may  be  added  but  it  is  better  to  keep  this  separate  also. 

After  the  chicks  are  five  or  six  weeks  old  a  coarser  and  cheaper  feed  mix- 
ture may  be  given  them.  One  of  the  best  mixtures  of  this  kind  is  made  as 
follows: 

No.   2,  Scratch  Feed 

Whole   or   Shriveled  Wheat    25  pounds 

Coarse   Cracked   Corn    20  pounds 

Millet   Seed    10  pounds 

Oats    25  pounds 

Barley    10  pounds 

Kaffir  Corn,  if  convenient   25  pounds 

This  is  improved  if  cracked  peas  and  buckwheat  ,  each  10  pounds  can  be 
added.  Barley  and  Kaffir  corn  are  about  equally  valuable  and  either  may  be 
used  as  a  substitute  for  the  sunflower  seen  is  good  in  small  quantities.  It  should 
never  be  more  than  4  or  5  per  cent  of  the  whole  quantitl  of  the  mixture. 

Where  chicks  are  to  be  sold  as  broilers  or  young  roasting  fowls  they  may  be 
put  in  fine  condition  by  feeding  them  on  the  following  mixture: 


36 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


SINGLE  COMB  BROWN  LEGHORNS. 


The  acknowledged  queen  of  the  practical  egg  laying  breeds  is  the 
Single  Comb  Brown  Leghorn,  when  judged  by  the  standard  of  the  greatest 
number  of  marketable  eggs  produced  at  "least  cost.  Not  only  are  the  hens 
persistent  layers,  but  they  are  extremely  active  foragers  and  waste  no 
time  in  sitting.  Like  a  good  milch  cow  they  put  on  little  fat  upon  their 
bones,  but  all  surplus  nourishment  to  egg  production.  The  cost  of  growing 
them  is  comparatively  light,  no  more,  perhaps  than  one-half  that  of 
Brahma  or  Cochin. 


FORCING  MASH. 

Corn  meal    5  parts 

Wheat    bran    2  parts 

Beef  scrap  or  animal  meal   2  parts 

Middlings  or  ' '  red  dog ; '  flour   1  part 

Mix  these  and  then  take  of  the  mixture  three  parts  and  one  of  alfalfa  or 
clover  meal,  moisten  the  whole  with  milk  or  hot  water  and  feed.  Just  enough 
milk  or  water  should  be  added  to  make  a  crumbly  mash.  The  proportions  are  by 
weight  in  the  above  mixture  as  in  the  others. 

Where  a  special  forcing  mixture  is  wanted  for  broiler  chicks  the  following 
is   very   good: 

BROILER  CAKE. 
2  parts  bran  or  shorts. 
2  parts  corn  meal. 
2   parts  corn  meal 
1  part  wheat  middlings 
10  per  cent  beef  scrap 
5  per  cent  fine  chick  grit. 

To  each  pound  of  this  mixture  add  one  of  the  infertile  eggs  taken  from  the 
incubator  when  the  eggs  are  tested  with  enough  skimmed  milk  to  moisten  the 
whole  mixture.  Bake  well  in  a  greased  pan  in  a  slow  oven  so  as  to  have  the 
cake  cooked  entirely  through.  This  cake  easily  crumbles  when  well  baken  and 
forces  chicks  to  grow  very  rapidly. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA  37 


Separating  the   Sexes. 


It  is  very  much  better  to  separate  the  sexes.  Where  the  flock  is  kept  for 
market  purposes  the  cockerels  should  be  sold  as  soon  as  they  get  to  good  broiler 
size,  as  they  usually  bring  as  much  then  as  they  will  if  kept  longer  and  sold  in 
the  fall. 

Where  the  cockerels  are  to  be  kept  and  sold  for  breeding  purposes  it  is  very 
much  better  to  sell.  Separate  them  from  the  pullets  as  they  worry  the  pullets 
as  soon  as  they  begin  to  develop  sexually  and  this  keeps  the  pullets  back  more 
than   a  little. 

The  beginner  may  think  that  this  is  too  much  trouble  but  if  he  thinks  so  he 
is  mistaken.  The  pullets  are  the  money  makers  and  they  should  be  given  every 
chance  to  mature  as  early  as  possible  so  as  to  make  them  early  and  good  layers. 

Too  much  pains  cannot  be  taken  with  the  young  stock  because  the  earlier 
it  is  got  into  condition  the  more  profitable  it  is. 


SILVER   LACED    WYANDOTTES. 


For  any  purpose  for  which  poultry  is  kept  the  Silver  Laced  Wyandotte 
is  always  ready  to  make  a  good  showing.  It  is  the  pride  of  American  fan- 
ciers and  a  delightful  bird  to  handle  and  own,  and  is  quiet  and  tame  and 
not  seeking  mischief.  As  a  market  fowl  it  has  a  record  of  topping  the  most 
particular  market  in  this  country.  As  a  layer  it  has  twice  in  five  years 
carried  off  the  prize  in  the  great  annual  Australian  laying  competitions, 
which  are  carried  on  under  government  supervision.  In  this  country  a  Sil- 
ver Laced  Wyandotte  hen  has  made  a  record  of  804  eggs  in  four  consecutive 
years,  an  average  of  201  eggs  per  year,  a  record  never  before  equalled  by 
any  hen  of  any  breed. 

Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  8%  pounds,  cockerel  7%  pounds, 
hen  6%  pounds,  pullet  5%  pounds. 


Chapter  VIII 

FEEDING  FOR  EGGS. 


Anyone  who  thinks  that  he  can  make  money  by  saving  feed  when  feeding 
hens  makes  a  fatal  mistake.  Hens  must  be  full  fed  if  they  are  to  make  good 
egg  records.  Some  years  ago  the  cry  was  set  up  that  the  reason  hens  did  not  lay 
more  was  because  they  were  kept  too  fat  and  many  a  poultry  keeper  learned  to 
his  sorrow  that  this  was  not  true.  Kepeated  experiments  by  others,  and  my  own 
experience,  have  taught  me  that  laying  hens  must  be  kept  fat  if  they  are  to  do 
their  best. 

Much  nonsense  has  been  written  about  feeding  for  eggs.  The  average  farm- 
er who  keeps  cows  produced  on  his  own  farm  all  the  things  necessary  to  feed 
hens  so  that  they  will  lay  as  much  as  possible. 

It  is  just  as  impossible  to  feed  a  poor  layer  so  as  to  make  her  lay  well  as 
it  is  tc  feed  a  poor  milker  enough  to  make  a  good  cow  of  her.  Some  hens  will 
lay  more  eggs  on  scanty  feed  than  others  will  with  all  the  feed  they  can  eat, 
but  any  hen  will  lay  better  when  well  fed  than  she  will  when  poorly  fed. 

The  farmer  who  raises  wheat,  corn  and  oats  and  keeps  cows  need  not  worry 
about  feed  for  his  hens  that  will  make  them  lay.  Wheat  is  a  good  egg  food  in 
itself,  but  it  should  not  be  fed  altogether.  Corn  is  a  very  good  feed  for  laying 
hens,  but  it  does  not  contain  all  the  elements  to  make  eggs  and  a  hen  must  be 
fed  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up  eggs  before  she  can  manufacture  them  and 
produce  them  for  her  owner.  Oats  come  very  nearly  being  a  perfect  feed  for 
hens,  but  they  have  so  much  husk  that  hens  should  not  be  fed  oats  all  the  time. 
I  believe  that  as  good  a  feed  as  can  be  made  for  laying  hens  is  to  feed  wheat 
about  half  the  time  and  oats  and  corn  for  the  other  half,  giving  milk,  sweet, 
sour  or  in  the  form  of  buttermilk  for  them  to  drink.  Don't  make  milk  a  sub- 
stitute for  water  but  if  you  have  it  give  your  hens  all  they  will  drink  of  it. 
With  these  grain  feeds  the  hens  need  green  stuff.     On  a  farm  they  will  get  all 


38 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


MAMMOTH   BRONZE  TURKEYS. 


The  Mammoth  Bronze  turkey  is  the  acknowledged  king  of  all  turkeys. 
They  have  a  brilliant  metallic  coloring  that  shines  in  the  sun  like  the 
hues  of  the  rainbow.  Males  and  females  are  similar  but  in  the  female  the 
color  is  not  quite  so  brilliant  or  clearly  defined.  In  the  female  the  edging 
of  the  feathers  is  generally  of  a  dull  white  or  gray.  The  Mammoth  Bronze 
is  the  hardiest  of  all  turkeys,  and  the  most  extensively  raised  of  any 
breed.  They  are  good  layers,  many  claiming  them  to  lay  over  100  eggs 
in  a  season,  however,  there  are  exceptions  to  all  things.  Most  turkeys 
do  not  lay  after  July  1st.  Adult  cock,  36  pounds;  cockerel,  25  pounds; 
young  cock,  33  pounds;  hen,  20  pounds;  pullet,  16  pounds. 


the  green  stuff  they  need  during  the  months  when  green  stuff  does  not  grow 
this  must  be  supplied  to  them.  Any  kind  of  vegetables  will  do  such  as  cow 
beets — mangels — sugar  beets,  turnips,  potatoes — boiled  before  being  fed — cabbage 
and  such  things  which  are  easy  to  grow  anywhere.  If  all  of  these  fail  the  hens 
will  greedily  eat  the  shatterings  from  clover  or  alfalfa  hay  and  these  should  be 
gathered  to  them. 

With  a  comfortable  house  and  a  system  of  feeding  that  supplies  all  these 
grains  and  vegetable  and  with  a  supply  of  grit,  oyster  shell  and  charcoal  the 
farm  flock  should  lay  well  in  winter  as  they  would  under  a  more  elaborate  sys- 
tem of  feeding. 

However  not  every  one  lives  on  a  farm  and  has  these  things  of  home  pro- 
duction For  the  benefit  of  these  I  give  several  methods  of  feeding  which  have 
been  tried  and  found  good. 

To  begin  with  I  may  say  that  very  careful  experiments  have  shown  that 
whole  corn  is  exactly  as  good  for  laying  hens  as  cracked  corn.     The  floor  of  the 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


39 


WHITE  ORPINGTONS. 


The  White  Orpingtons  are  comparatively  large  fowls,  exceeding  the 
Plymouth  Eoeks  in  Standard  weight  and  are  more  compact  in  build.  In 
manner  of  feathering  they  approach  somewhat  the  Cochin  type.  Their 
compact  build  enables  them  to  carry  a  great  amount  of  flesh  and  they 
are  claimed  to  be  good  layers.  The  White  Orpingtons  have  great  merit, 
being  pure  white  in  the  first  place  and  breeding  very  true  to  color.  They 
are  among  the  very  best  table  fowls  because  they  have  such  a  deep,  wide 
breast,  and  such  thick  thighs.  The  White  Orpingtons  are  perfectly  hardy 
and  while  they  respond  to  good  care  they  will  do  well  under  average 
conditions.  They  are  also  very  hearty  eaters  and  good  foragers.  Standard 
weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  10  pounds,  cockerel  8%  pounds,  hen  8  pounds, 
pullet  7  pounds. 


poultry  house  should  be  kept  littered  with  a  six-inch  layer  of  clean,  light,  dry 
straw  early  in  the  morning  a  quart  of  corn  should  be  thrown  into  this  litter  for 
each  10  hens.  About  10  o'clock  another  feed  of  a  mixture  of  two  quarts  of 
wheat  and  two  quarts  of  oats  for  each  100  hens  should  be  thrown  into  the  litter. 
This  is  all  the  regular  feeding  that  is  done  when  hens  are  kept  under  the  system 
I  am  now  describing.  At  all  times  a  supply  of  a  dry  mash  is  kept  in  a  slatted 
trough  where  the  hens  can  go  and  eat  anytime  they  want  to.  The  trough  is  along 
one  side  of  the  room  with  slats  before  it  through  which  the  hens  can  reach  the 
mixture  and  yet  not  waste  it.     This  mixture  is  made   as  follows:  • 

Wheat   bran 2  parts  by  weight 

Corn    meal     1  part  by  weight 

Middling    1  part  by  weight 

Gluten  meal  or  brewers  grains    1  part  by  weight 

Linseed    meal     1  part  by  weight 

Beef  scrap    1  part  by  weight 

The  brewers  grains  and  linseed  may  be  omitted  if  they  are  not  con- 
venient to  get  and  a  larger  proportion  of  corn  meal  and  beef  scrap  used.  The 
hens  do  not  like  this  mixture  as  well  as  they  do  the  whole  grain  but  they  eat  it 
a  few  mouthfuls  at   a  time,  and  it  certainly  makes  them  lay. 

This  is  a  most  convenient  way  of  feeding  fowls  and  several  year's  experi- 
ence has  proved  it  to  be  a  good  egg  producing  feed. 


40 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


BUFF    PLYMOUTH   ROCKS. 


In  type  and  characteristics,  except  as  to  color  of  plumage,  they  are 
the  exact  copy  of  the  Barred  and  White  Plymouth  Rocks.  As  their  name 
implies,  they  are  of  a  rich,  buff  color.  They  have  quite  heavy,  nice,  well 
rounded  bodies,  and  a  bright  yellow  skin.  They  have  clean  legs  of  medium 
length.  This  breed  is  well  adapted  to  both  the  fancier  and  market  poultry- 
men.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  9^  pounds,  hen  7y2  pounds, 
cockerel  8  ponuds,  pullets  6%  pounds. 


Do  not  neglect  to  keep  the  hens  supplied  with  grit,  oyster  shell  and  char- 
coal as  well  as  with  plenty  of  pure  water.  No  hen  can  lay  eggs  without  water, 
for  an  egg  contains  a  large  percentage  of  water,  and  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  hens  have  water  at  any  time  they  feel  the  need  of  it. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  reader  I  give  a  few  formulas  which  have  been 
used  with  success.  It  may  be  said  that  no  one  has  yet  discovered  a  formula  for 
feeding  that  may  be  said  to  be  the  very  best  of  all.  There  are  a  good  many 
mixtures  which  seem  to  be  about  equally  good  and  this  makes  it  easy  to  fit  the 
feed  to  the  locality. 

I  have  known  a  flock  of  hens  which  were  never  fed  anything  but  barley  and 
wheat  to  lay  exceedingly  well.     They  had  a  free  range  in  a  piece  of  woodland 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


41 


WHITE  WYANDOTTES. 


White  Wyandottes  are  the  true  sports  of  the  Wyandotte  family,  hav- 
ing sported  from  some  of  the  best  yards  in  America  and  as  a  rule  from 
the  darkest  matings.  They  are  very  popular  and  a  great  favorite  among 
the  fanciers.  They  differ  very  little  from  the  laced  varieties,  yet  I  believe 
they  are  somewhat  hardier,  as  they  require  less  in  breeding  to  retain  their 
show  points.  For  the  novice  they  are  often  preferred  to  the  other  breeds, 
on  this  account.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  8%  pounds, 
cockerel  7%  pounds,  hen  6%  pounds,  pullet  5%  pounds. 


and  in  this  they  got  many  insects  and  the  necessary  bugs  and  insects  of  various 
kinds  to   supply  the   meat   feed   they   needed. 

The  farmer's  flock  which  runs  over  the  farm  need  not  be  fed  meat  during  the 
summer,  as  they  find  worms  and  insects  to  eat  and  these  are  the  very  best  form 
of  meat  feed  for  fowls. 

A  good  mixture  is  made  as  follows: 
10  pounds  wheat 
10  pounds  corn 
5  pounds  oats. 

I  prefer  feeding  each  grain  separate  as  the  hens  then  eat  all  of  each  while, 
if  they  are  fed  a  mixture  the  strong  ones  get  thekindthey  like  best  and  the  weak 
ones  must  take  what  is  left.  In  feeding  this  mixture  I  would  feed  wheat  twice, 
corn  twice  and  oats  once,  keeping  up  this  rotation,  feeding  the  grain  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

In  connection  with  this  I  would  feed  dry  mash  in  a  slatted  trough  which 
was  kept  under  cover.  The  dry  mash  would  be  where  the  hens  could  get  it  any 
time  they  felt  hungry.     The  following  mixture  makes  a  splendid  dry  mash  feed: 

Middlings    6  pounds 

Corn    meal    6  pounds 

Bran    : 3  pounds 

Oil    meal    1  pound 


42  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


ENGLISH  RED  CAPS. 


The  Red  Caps  are  a  hardy  race  of  fowls,  which  came  to  American 
breeders  from  Derbyshire,  England,  where  they  have  been  known  for  many 
years  as  unrivalled  layers  of  richly  flavored  eggs.  The  true  value  of  these 
fowls  as  egg  producers  is  very  little  known  in  this  country.  A  few  years 
ago  we  used  to  see  them  at  eastern  shows  and  they  bid  fair  to  become 
well  known  and  appreciated,  but  of  late  they  have  been  exhibited  but 
little.     Cock  7%  pounds,  cockeerl  6  pounds,  hen  6  pounds,  pullet  5  pounds. 


Alfalfa   or  clover  meal    1  pound 

Beef  scrap  5  per  cent 

This  is  what  is  called  a  "narrow"  ration.  That  is  it  is  very  rich  in  the 
elements  that  go  to  make  eggs  and  for  feeding  laying  hens  in  winter  nothing  could 
be  better. 

A  word  about  beef  scrap,  oil  meal  and  alfalfa  or  clover  meal.  The  poultry- 
man  who  thinks  these  feeds  too  high  in  cost  makes  a  mistake.  In  these  days  all 
of  these  can  be  bought  in  almost  any  town  and  poultry  supply  houses  and  most  in- 
cubator manufacturers  keep  them  on  sale.  It  pays  to  buy  them  for  they  are  all 
good  egg  makers,  and  eggs  is  what  every  poultryman  wants  whether  he  keeps 
hens  for  market   or  for  breeding  purposes. 

At  the  Kansas  experiment  station  hens  laid  well  when  fed  as  follows: 

Grain  Mixture — Two  parts  corn,  two  parts  wheat,  two  parts  kaffir  corn,  one 
part  millet. 

For  the  dry  mash  take  two  parts  corn  meal,  two  parts  shorts,  two  parts  beef 
scrap  and  one-half  part  alfalfa  meal. 

I  give  below  the  famous  California  mixture  for  feeding  for  eggs:  Two  parts 
middlings,  2  parts  bran,  1  part  corn  meal,  1  part  shorts,  1  part  bolted  barley,  1 
part  meat  meal  and  one-half  part  bone  meal.  The  hens  were  not  fed  any  whole 
grain,  the  above  mixture  being  fed  in  hoppers  and  kept  before  them  all  the 
time. 

With  the  above  directions  for  mixing  feed  the  poultry  keeper  in  any  part  of 
the  country  should  be  able  to  make  a  mixture  which  would  do  him  good. 

Remember  that  laying  in  hens  in  these  days  is  the  result  of  long  training  and 
the  poultryman  who  desires  large  egg-records  must  select  his  hens  for  laying.  In 
another  chapter  I  tell  how  to  select  the  best  layers.  In  every  case  the  hen  that 
comes  from  a  strain  of  line-bred  layers  will  average  better  than  the  one  that  has 
not  such  careful  breeding  behind  her.  Getting  the  right  start  means  much  to  the 
beginner. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


43 


PARTRIDGE   COCHINS. 


Partridge  cochins,  like  the  other  varieties  owes  its  origin  to  the 
Shanghai  fowl,  yet  possibly  has  some  of  the  Malay  or  Black  Red  Game 
in  its  make  up.  They  are  the  same  as  the  Buff  in  shape  and  size,  differing 
only  in  color  of  plumage.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  11 
pounds,  cockerel  9  pounds,  hen  8%  pounds,  pullet  7  pounds. 


THE 


Chapter  IX 

'SECRETS"    OF    THE   POULTRY  BUSINESS. 


Two  or  three  books  have  been  widely  advertised  as  making  public  all  the 
"secrets"  of  the  poultry  business  and  several  promoters  have  got  rich  selling 
at  a  high  price  certain  secrets  of  the  business.  Most  of  these  so-called  secrets 
are  such  as  the  poultryman  should  know,  but  I  do  not  believe  in  the  secret  busi- 
ness myself.  I  want  every  poultryman  to  know1  all  about  the  business  so  every 
one  can  succeed,  for  the  more  that  they  succeed  the  faster  the  business  will  grow 
and  the  better  for  every  one  concerned. 

The  so-called  "secrets"  that  I  make  public  in  this  chapter  have  been  sold 
at  from  one  to  ten  dollars  each.  Purchasers  of  this  book  get  them  practically 
free,  as  I  throw  them  in  for  good  measure. 


Feed  for  Fifteen  Cents  a  Bushel. 


The  poultry  papers  have  contained  advertisements  from  several  different  per- 
sons ottering  for  from  one  to  five  dollars  to  tell  how  to  make  feed  for  15  cents 
a  bushel  or  for  10  cents  a  bushel  or  for  8  cents  a  bushel,  each  advertiser  trying 
to  make  it  appear  that  he  had  the  secret  of  making  something  from  nothing.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  there  is  no  process  by  which  more  nutrition  can  be  put  into  a 
bushel  of  grain  than  is  in  it  in  its  natural  state,  but  there  are  processes  which 
have  the  same  effect  as  partially  digesting  grains  and  fowls  can  eat  more,  and 
thus  get  more  benefit.  These  prepared  grains  are  also  more  digestible  and  a 
bushel  is  worth  more  as  feed  after,  if  it  has  been  prepared,  than  it  was  before. 
Simply  cooking  wheat,  corn  or  oats  makes  them  more  valuable  than  it  was  before, 
before  being  cooked  make  feed  for  fifteen  cents  a  bushel,  one  has  only  to  sprout 
a  bushel  of  oats  when  the  swelling  of  the  oats  and  the  growth  of  the  sprouts  will 
make  three  bushels  of  feed  from  one  bushel  of  oats,  but  hens  will  eat  three  times 


44 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


BLACK  MINORCAS. 


The  Black  Minorca  is  a  well-established  breed  of  English  fowl,  belong- 
ing to  the  Spanish  varieties,  and  wherever  bred,  are  considered  a  valuable 
breed;  are  hardy,  both  as  fowls  and  chicks,  easily  raised,  mature  early,  and 
pullets  commence  laying  when  very  young.  They  are  non-sitters,  small 
eaters,  splendid  foragers,  and  without  doubt  very  profitable.  Their  plumage 
is  a  pure  black  with  a  green  or  metallic  luster.  Their  legs  are  nice  and 
smooth  and  medium  length.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  9 
pounds,  cockerel  7%  pounds,  hen  7%  pounds,  pullet  6%  pounds. 


as  much  of  it,  so  the  advantage  is  simply  in  having  a  more  palatable  and  more 
digestible  feed  than  the  natural  grain  would  make. 

There  are  several  methods  of  sprouting  oats.     I  give  two  or  three  of  them. 

Take  a  box  large  enough  so  that  a  bushel  of  oats  will  cover  the  bottom 
four  inches  deep.  Bore  several  half  inch  holes  in  the  bottom.  Then  put  the  oats 
in  and  wet  them  well  with  warm  water,  stirring  them  about  until  the  grains  are 
all  wet.  Keep  the  box  in  a  rather  warm  place,  a  good  cellar  in  cold  weather  will 
do  or  keep  them  back  of  the  stove  in  the  kitchen.  One  breeder  that  I  know 
sprouts  his  oats  in  his  brooder  house.  Wet  the  oats  every  day  with  warm  water 
and  in  from  ten  to  fifteen  days  they  will  be  a  mass  of  roots  and  sprouts,  making 
a  combination  of  green  and  grain  feed  that  promotes  egg-laying  very  successfully. 
Feed  the  hens  these  oats  and  they  will  do  the  rest.  The  process  of  sprouting  turns 
the  starch  in  the  oats  into  a  form  of  sugar  which  hens  like  and  this  is  very  easily 
digested  so  the  hens  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  oats. 

If  one  has  a  cellar  a  wide  shelf  may  be  made  long  enough  to  hold  several 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


45 


INDIAN   RUNNER   DUCKS. 


Indian  Eunner  ducks  are  making  more  friends  all  the  time.  From 
the  day  they  were  introduced  into  this  country  down  to  the  present  time, 
they  have  added  to  their  reputation  as  the  best  laying  fowls  of  any  breed 
ever  introduced  to  the  poultrymen  of  any  country.  They  are  not  as  large 
as  Pekinsor  Kouens  and  are  not  recommended  as  a  market  duck,  although 
they  produce  very  finely  flavored  and  fine  fibered  flesh.  It  is  as  egg 
machines  that  they  are  most  highly  esteemed.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
an  Indian  Eunner  duck  to  lay  200  eggs  in  a  year  and  nearly  every  one 
will  lay  from  150  to  180.  They  endure  small  yards  better  than  any  other 
water  fowl.  They  are  small  eaters,  healthy,  never  troubled  with  insect 
enemies,  roup,  or  any  of  the  diseases  of  other  fowls.  Standard  weights, 
drake  4%  pounds,  duck  4  pounds. 


bushels  of  oats  and  a  larger  quantity  may  be  sprouted  at  one  time.  Begin  at 
one  end  and  as  fast  as  a  vacant  place  is  made,  put  in  fresh  oats,  and  in  this 
way  a  constant  supply  may  be  kept  on  hand.  Do  not  put  the  oats  too  deep  on  the 
shelf  or  in  a  box  as  they  are  likely  to  rot  if  this  is  done.  Three  or  four  inches 
is  about  right,  but  never  more  than  six  inches.  Always  stir  and  wet  with  warm 
water  and  a  good  stirring  is  enough.  One  soon  learns  how  much  water  to  use. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  use  enough  so  it  will  drip  through  the  shelf,  after  the  oats 
are  well  wet. 

A  very  good  method  for  summer  is  to  make  a  frame  on  the  ground  two  feet 
wide  bv  eight  feet  long.  This  may  be  made  of  1x4  boards.  Set  the  frame  on 
level  ground  and  put  two  inches  of  oats  all  over  the  ground.  Wet  these  and  then 
cover  with  two  inches  of  soil.  If  the  oats  are  soaked  over  night  before  being 
put  to  sprout,  they  will  come   up   quicker.     When   the   sprouts  show  above  the 


46 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


BLUE  ANDALUSIANS. 

One  of  the  oldest  of  the  Standard  varieties  and  classes  among  the  Medit- 
erranean varieties,  they  derive  their  name  from  Andalusia,  a  province  in 
the  southern  part  of  Spain.  They  are  a  graceful  bird  and  strikingly  hand- 
some, somewhat  on  the  Leghorn  order  of  build,  but  larger,  yet  smaller 
than  the  Minorcas.  The  plumage  is  a  slaty  blue  and  bluish  black  through- 
out, with  shanks  of  the  same  shade.  They  are  good  layers,  just  a  fair 
table  fowl,  but  a  trifle  small.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  6 
pounds,  cockerel  5  pounds,  hen  5  pounds,  pullet  4  pounds. 


ground  the  oats  are  ready  to  feed.  Sut  them  out  in  blocks  with  a  spade  and 
throw  oats  and  soil  to  the  chickens.  It  will  be  found  that  a  good  many  insects 
have  burrowed  in  the  soil  as  it  is  damp  and  warm  and  these  go  to  the  fowls  as 
well  as  the  sprouted  oats. 


Preserving  Eggs. 


It  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  preserve  eggs  for  eight  months  to  a  year.  Usually 
eight  months  is  as  long  as  eggs  need  to  be  preserved,  and  if  they  are  kept  by  the 
following  method  they  will  keep  that  long  and  be  as  good  as  new,  good  judges 
having  been  fooled  by  thinking  preserved  eggs  were  fresh  ones. 

This  secret  has  been  sold  for  as  high  as  ten  dollars:  Take  a  perfectly  clean 
vessel  of  some  kind,  so  it  is  not  made  of  metal.  A  keg  or  stone  jar  makes  a  good 
container,  but  the  keg,  if  a  keg  is  used,  should  be  perfectly  clean  and  free  from 
odors  or  grease.  Fill  the  container  half  full  of  a  solution  made  by  mixing  ten 
parts  of  water  with  one  part  of  silicate  of  soda,  commonly  called  water  glass, 
first  having  boiled  the  water  and  letting  it  get  cool.  Into  this  solution  put  the 
eggs  as  they  are  gathered,  being  careful  that  every  egg  is  perfectly  fresh  and  that 
the  shell  is  not  cracked.  Put  the  eggs  in  the  solution  as  they  are  gathered.  If 
they  show  a  tendency  to  rise  to  the  surface  put  a  board  cut  to  the  proper  shape 
over  the  solution  to  hold  the  eggs  beneath  the  surface.     Keep  the  eggs  in  the  cool- 


FRANK  TOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


47. 


WHITE  LANGSHANS. 


White  Langshans  are  sports  from  black  variety.  They  are  the  exact 
counterpart  of  the  Black  except  that  their  plumage  is  pure  white,  and 
their  beaks  a  little  lighter  in  color.  Standard  weights:  Cock  10  pounds, 
cockerel  8  pounds,  hen  7  pounds,  pullet  6  pounds. 


est  and  dryest  place  you  have  and  do  not  disturb  them  any  more  than  is  neces- 
sary. 

This  solution  cannot  be  used  a  second  time.  Eggs  put  down  in  this  solution 
in  May  will  be  found  to  be  perfectly  good  the  next  December  and  they  have 
been  kept  until  the  following  spring  in  perfect  condition.  When  the  eggs  are  to 
be  used  take  them  out,  wipe  them  dry  at  once  and  they  cannot  be  told  from 
fresh  eggs. 


How  to  Fatten  Fowls  Quickly. 


Shut  the  fowls  in  a  pen  where  they  will  not  have  much  room  to  move  about. 

Feed  them  all  they  will  eat  of  a  mixture  of  one  part  each  of  cornmeal,  alfalfa 

meal   and   wheat   bran.     Mix   with   hot  water  and   allow   to   cool   before   feeding- 
Here   is  another:      100   pounds   of   corn  meal,   100   pounds   of  wheat   middling 

and  40   pounds  of   meat   meal.     Feed  this  for  eight  days   and  after  this   add   10 

per  cent  of  beef  tallow. 

Here  is  a  fattening  mixture  for  young  fowls:     One  part  each  of  corn  meal, 

ground   oats   and   wheat   middlings.     To  this  add   one-half  part   of  linseed   meal. 
The  last  two  mixtures  should  be  mixed  thin  enough   so  they  will  just   drop 

off  a  wooden  spoon  or  paddle. 

Give   all   the   corn  they   will   eat   once   a   day   and   feed   the   ground   mixture 

twice    a    day.      These    mixtures    should    fatten    fowls    or    young    stock    in    from 

ten  to  fourteen  days.     Sell  as  soon  as  fully  fattened  as  they  lose  their  appetites 

soon  after  and  will  not  gain  weight  ofter  losing  a  little. 


48  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


Sfc 


SB* 


<Q»  V 


ffgB 


CORNISH    INDIAN    GAMES. 


This  is  one  of  the  most  popular  varieties.  It  is  a  good  general  purpose 
fowl,  having  the  qualities  of  the  market  fowl,  i.  e.  compactness,  yellow 
legs,  heavy  weight,  from  which  there  is  but  little  waste  in  dressing,  and 
being  a  quick  grower,  they  produce  a  fine  broiler  in  a  short  time,  because 
they  have  short  feathers,  the  nutriment  required  to  put  feathers  on  other 
breeds  going  to  flesh,  which  is  more  juicy  and  tender  in  this  breed  than 
in  a  young  turkey.  Their  breasts  are  very  full.  The  Indian  Game  hens 
are  good  sitters  and  mothers,  and  the  young  chicks  are  very  hardy.  In 
color,  the  fowls  are  quite  pretty,  the  bright  brown  shafts  and  glossy  green 
lacing  making  a  beautiful  contrast.  Standard  weights  are  as  follows: 
Cocks  9  pounds,  cockerel  7%  pounds,  hens  6%  pounds,  pullets  5%  pounds. 


How  to  Make  Pullets  Lay  Early. 
After  the  pullets  are  six  weeks  old  feed  them  five  parts  wheat  and  four 
parts  of  cracked  corn  in  the  morning,  giving  them  all  they  will  eat.  Keep 
in  a  slatted  trough  a  dry  mash  made  as  follows:  45  pounds  of  corn  meal;  10 
pounds  ground  kaffir  corn;  10  pounds  ground  oats;  4  pounds  meat  meal  or 
beef  scrap;  1  pound  grit  and  granulated  bone.  Keep  this  dry  mash  before 
them  all  the  time.  Give  them  a  good  range  to  run  over  and  they  will  be  laying 
at  five  months  of  age. 


How  to  Select  Good  Layers. 


The  good  laying  hen  always  has  a  bright  red  comb  and  face.  She  is  out 
early  in  the  morning  and  goes  to  bed  later  than  the  poor  layers.  She  is  bright 
and  active  and  always  ready  to  get  into  mischief  at  the  first  chance  because  she 
is  full  of  life  and  activity. 

A  good  layer  often  waddles  when  she  walks  something  like  a  duck.  This 
is  because  she  is  wide  and  deep  behind. 

A  good  laying  hen  is  usually  a  fat  one,  but  she  is  not  soft  to  the  feel  of 
the  hand.  Pick  up  a  good  layer  and  she  will  be  found  heavy  for  her  appear- 
ance and  her  flesh  will  be  firm  and  hard. 

The  hen  of  medium  size  for  her  breed  will  usually  lay  more  than  the  very 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA 


49 


WHITE  FACED  BLACK  SPANISH. 


.  ,pv^l'*- 


The  White  Faced  Black  Spanish  fowls  belong  to  the  Mediterranean 
•class.  They  are  a  non-setting  breed,  and  are  as  hardy  as  the  Asiatics. 
The  Spanish  are  much  larger  than  Leghorns,  being  as  heavy  as  Wyandottes. 
As  layers  they  are  not  surpassed  by  the  Leghorns.  They  lay  a  large,  white 
egg,  and  lots  of  them.  Their  plumage  is  a  rich,  glossy  black  throughout. 
Their  combs  and  wattles  are  red,  and  their  white  faces  and  lobes  peculiar 
to  the  breed  contrast  with  their  black  plumage.  Chicks  grow  very  fast, 
maturing  at  an  early  age.  Their  meat  is  fine  grained,  tender  and  sweet. 
Standard  weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  8  pounds,  cockerel  6%  pounds,  hen 
6%   pounds,  pullet  5%   pounds. 


heavy  or  light  hen. 

They  have  a  saying  in  the  old  country  that  if  the  cockerel  that  crows 
first  is  mated  to  the  pullet  that  lays  first  the  pullets  from  this  mating  will  be 
good  layers. 

Here  is  a  method  of  telling  good  layers  which  comes  from  Australia:  At 
the  rear  oi  the  body  of  a  hen  just  below  the  vent  two  bones  can  be  felt.  These 
are  the  lower  points  of  the  shell  bone  that  arches  over  the  back,  corresponding 
to  the  hip  formation  in  human  beings.  If  these  bones  are  close  together  the 
hen  is  a  poor  layer  and  the  wider  they  are  apart  the  better  the  hen  will  lay. 
If  three  fingers  will  lie  between  the  space  between  these  bones  the  hen  is  an 
excellent  layer.  This  secret  has  been  sold  in  this  country  for  as  much  as  ten 
dollars. 

Here  is  a  method  of  telling  a  good  layer  without  touching  her.  It  is  the 
method  followed  by  an  English  poultryman  who  made  a  large  fortune  in  the 
poultry  business: 

On  each  side  of  the  comb  of  a  hen  there  will  be  seen  short  feathers  which 
cover  the  top  of  the  head.  If  these  feathers  stand  straight  up,  or  are  inclined 
to  turn  forward  the  hen  will  be  a  good  layer.  The  more  they  incline  to  turn 
the  points  forward  the  better  the  hen.  If  these  feathers  lie  smoothly  pointing 
backward  the  hen   is  not   a  good  layer. 


Grundy's  Famous  8-Cents-a-Bushel  Feed. 


This   way    of   making   feed    cheaply   has   been    exploited    by    a   Mr.    Grundy, 
but  it   is  not  original  with  him   as  an   eastern  poultryman  told  him  to  make  it 


50  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 

years  ago.  Cut  alfalfa  or  clover  hay  into  quarter-inch  lengths.  Fill  an  eight- 
gallon  tub  with  this  cut  hay  and  in  the  evening  pour  over  it  two  gallons  of 
boiling  water  stiring  it  well.  Cover  the  tub  with  a  blanket  or  piece  of  carpet 
and  let  stand  until  morning.  In  the  morning  add  to  the  steamed  hay  one 
quart  of  wheat  bran  and  two  quarts  each  of  wheat  middlings  and  corn  meal, 
mixing  the  whole  thoroughly. 

Mr    Grundy  claims  that  he  has  increased  the   weight  of   fowls  from  two  to 
three  pounds  in  from  ten  to  fifteen  days  on  this  very  cheap  feed. 


An  Egg  Feeding  Mixture 


Take  of  any  ground-grain  commercial  poultry  feed,  4  measures;  gluten  feed, 
3  measures;  wheat  bran,  1  measure;  alfalfa  or  clover  meal,  1  measure,  and  meat 
meal,  1  measure.  Mix  thoroughly  and  keep  before  the  hens  in  a  slatted  trough, 
all  the  time.  For  grain  feed  give  in  litter  in  the  morning  one  quart  of  yellow 
corn  for  each  25  hens,  and  at  noon  one  pint  of  good  wheat  and  one  pint  of  oats 
for  each  25  hens.  Keep  water,  grit,  oyster  shells  and  charcoal  where  the  hens 
can  get  them  at  any  time  and  feed  green  feed  every  day  if  the  hens  are  kept 
yarded.  This  is  for  commercial  laying  hens.  It  is  too  stimulating  for  hens  the 
eggs  of  which  are  to  be  used  for  breeding  purposes. 


Chapter  X 

REARING  TURKEYS. 


Turkey  raising  is  very  profitable  and  where  one  has  a  large  free  range  for 
them  they  are  the  best  money-makers  of  all  our  poultry,  but  no  one  should  try 
to  keep  turkeys  on  a  small  range.  They  are  naturally  wild  and  want  to  range 
far  and  if  they  cannot  do  this  they  will  not  do  well. 

There  are  several  good  varieties  of  turkeys,  but  the  principal  ones  are  the 
Bronze  and  White.  These  two  are  the  favorites  almost  everywhere,  although  the 
Bourbon  Red  turkey  is  a  good  variety. 

One  torn  turkey  will  serve  a  dozen  hens.  It  takes  only  one  service  to  fer- 
tilize a  whole  laying  of  turkey  eggs,  and  some  claim  that  one  service  will  fertilize 
all  the  eggs  a  hen  will  lay  in  a  season. 

The  turkey  hen  likes  to  steal  away  and  hide  her  nest  in  some  secluded  spot. 
If  barrels  are  laid  on  their  sides  in  fence  corners  or  under  bushes  where  they  are 
not  easily  seen,  with  some  hay  in  them  and  some  bushes  carelessly  thrown  over 
them,  the  turkey  hen  will  usually  select  one  for  her  nest.  Care  must  be  taken 
not  to  disturb  her  when  on  the  nest  and  the  eggs  must  be  removed  carefully  oi 
she  will  desert  her  nest.  A  good  many  put  imitation  eggs  in  the  nest  for  each 
one  they  take  out.  Others  leave  the  eggs  in  the  nest  until  enough  are  laid  to 
put  under  a  common  hen,  while  others  leave  but  one  egg  in  the  nest,  taking  one 
out  each  day. 

A  good  Bronze  hen  will  lay  3  to  5  dozen  eggs  in  a  season.  She  will  lay  one 
clutch  or  laying,  and  then  want  to  sit,  but  is  easily  broken  up  by  destroying  her 
nest.  She  will  soon  begin  laying  again  and  is  once  more  broken  up.  By  the  time 
she  has  finished  the  third  laying  the  weather  will  have  become  warm  and  the 
turkey  hen  may  be  allowed  to  sit  and  hatch  her  last  laying. 

It  is  best  to  hatch  the  earlier  layings  under  common  hens,  as  they  are  more 
domestic   and  more  careful  mothers  than  turkey  hens. 

When  the  young  turkeys  are  hatched,  put  them  in  a  brood  coop  that  has  a 
dry  floor  and  give  them  a  little  yard  to  run  in.  This  may  be  4x8  feet  in  size, 
and  there  should  be  fresh  green  grass  in  it.  Move  this  yard  every  day  to  fresh 
grass. 

Give  water  from  the  first  and  for  the  first  week  feed  the  young  turkeys  on 
curd  made  by  scalding  curdled  milk  or  from  buttermilk,  squeezing  this  dry  and 
adding  a  very  little  cayenne  pepper.  If  onion  tops  are  to  be  had,  or  whole  young- 
onions,  chop  these  fine  and  mix  with  the  curd.  After  the  first  week  gradually 
begin  feeding  a  little  cracked  grain  or  a  cake  made  by  mixing  half  and  half  corn 
meal  and  wheat  middlings  with  sour  milk  and  soda  and  baking  in  a  slow  oven. 
This  cake  is  made  the  same  as  the  old-fashioned  "johnnycake"  and  if  an  egg 
is  added  in  mixing  it,  it  will  be  better. 

Keep   the   young   turkeys    confined   for   about   three   weeks.     After  this   turn 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY  51 


them  out  with  the  hen  mother  after  the  dew  is  off,  if  there  is  no  prospect  of  rain, 
and  let  them  follow  their  mother  and  begin  to  learn  to  hunt  for  bugs  and  worms, 
their  natural  feed. 

Gradually  they  will  learn  to  wander  farther,  but  they  must  not  be  allowed 
to  get  wet  or  they  will  almost  surely  die. 

As  they  grow  larger  the  soft  feed  may  be  discontinued  and  cracked  wheat 
and  corn  given  to  them. 

Keep  them  well  under  control  until  they  begin  to  shoot  the  red  after  which 
they  will  endure  without  harm  any  kind  of  weather  and  may  be  allowed  to  roam 
at  will.  By  shooting  the  red  is  meant  the  time  when  they  begin  to  show  the  red, 
warty  growths  along  the  neck  (caruculations). 

Turkeys  should  always  be  fed  once  a  day,  at  evening,  to  keep  them  in  the 
habit  of  coming  home  at  night.  If  this  is  not  done  they  will  get  the  habit  of 
sleeping  wherever  night  finds  them,  wandering  farther  and  farther  away  until 
they  live  entirely  in  the  fields  and  become  half  wild. 

Turkeys  almost  raise  themselves  after  they  get  started  and  are  the  best  in- 
sect killers  we  have,  they  wander  over  the  fields,  doing  but  little  damage,  al- 
though a  great  many  people  think  they  are  worse  than  a  cyclone  in  a  grain 
field.  The  truth  is  that  they  do  not  care  for  grain  if  they  can  get  grasshoppers 
and  other  insects  and  eat  but  little  of  it  until  after  frost  comes  and  insect  food 
becomes   scarce. 

It  does  not  cost  any  more  to  raise  a  pound  of  turkey  than  it  does  a  pound  of 
pork  and  the  price  is  always  from  three  to  four  times  higher. 

In  buying  turkeys  to  begin  breeding,  take  great  care  to  get  a  male  which  is 
not  related  to  the  females,  for  they  do  not  stand  in-breeding  and  many  flocks 
are  now  so  closely  in-bred  that  they  have  lost  constitutional  vigor. 

I  might  write  a  book  about  turkey  breeding  and  not  give  any  more  real  in- 
formation than  is  contained  in  this  chapter.  If  these  directions  are  followed 
success  will  come  to  the  breeder. 


Chapter  XI 

BREEDING  DUCKS. 


Ducks  are  very  profitable  and  a  good  many  people  in  this  country  have  made 
comfortable  fortunes  by  breeding  them  for  market.  All  the  large  cities  use 
thousands  of  young  ducks  every  season  and  on  Long  Island  and  in  the  state? 
of  New  York  and  Massachusetts  may  be  found  many  large  duck  farms.  • 

Ducks  are  very  easy  to  breed  as  the  young  are  very  hardy  and  the  old  one? 
never  have  such  diseases  as  roup  or  other  parasitic  diseases. 

Lice  never  trouble  ducks  and  they  live  and  grow  rapidly  on  coarse  and 
cheap    foods. 

While  several  breeds  of  ducks  are  recognized  in  this  country  it  will  not  be 
necessary  for  me  to  give  particular  mention  to  more  than  two  breeds.  For  mar- 
ket purposes  the  Pekin  Duck  is  recognized  as  being  the  best,  while  for  eggs,  the 
Indian  Runner  duck  is  making  fame  rapidly. 

On  the  large  duck  farms  incubators  are  used  exclusively  in  hatching  ducks. 
Ducks'  eggs  seem  to  hatch  in  an  incubator  easier  than  any  other  kind,  and  when 
a  young  duck  is  once  out  of  the  shell  it  may  be  counted  on  as  likely  to  grow  to 
market  size  without  a  single  mishap. 

On  farms  chicken  hens  are  mostly  used  to  hatch  ducks,  although  ducks  are 
good  sitters  and  good  mothers.  The  trouble  with  mother  ducks  is  that  they  like 
to  wander  off  and  find  water,  while  a  chicken  hen  will  stay  around  close  to 
home. 

On  the  large  duck  farms  ducks  are  fed  special  mixtures,  but  the  ordinary 
farmer's  flock  will  get  along  nicely  on  the  kind  of  feed  little  chicks  are  given 
with  this  exception,  that  ducks  like  wet  feed  and  do  best  when  fed  mashes  made 
of  corn  meal,  wheat  middlings  and  beef  scap.  A  good  mixture  is  one  part  of 
corn  meal,  two  parts  of  wheat  middlings  with  from  one  twentieth  as  to  one- 
eighth  as  much  meat  meal  as  there  is  of  the  other  two  ingredients  of  the  mash. 
These  should  be  mixed  into  a  stiff  dough  and  fed  to  the  ducks.  Ducks  also  thrive 
on  tender  green  stuff  and  it  will  pay  the  duck  raiser  to  plant  a  piece  of  lettuce 
on  purpose  for  the  ducks.  This  is  easily  grown  and  young  ducks  will  almost 
live  on  it. 


52 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,   IOWA 


MOTTLED  JAVAS. 


The  Mottled  Javas  are  the  result  of  a  cross  of  the  Blacks  with  a  large 
white  hen,  so  the  records  say,  but  they  neglect  to  state  the  breed  to 
which  the  hen  belonged,  but  rather  imply  that  she  was  not  a  thoroughbred 
at  all.  The  mottled  variety  is  the  same  general  characteristics  as  the  Black 
variety,  differing  only  in  color,  which  is  a  mottled  black  and  white.  Stan- 
dard weights  are  as  follows:  Cock  9%  pounds,  cockerel  8  pounds,  hen  7% 
pounds,  pullet  6%  pounds. 


Ducks  do  not  need  water  except  to  drink,  and  this  should  always  be  supplied 
while  they  are  eating,  as  they  like  to  eat  a  few  bites  and  then  take  a  swallow 
of  water. 

Give  them  a  big  pan  of  water  and  set  this  on  a  platform  two  or  three  inches 
high,  so  they  must  get  on  the  platform  to  get  a  drink.  They  will  get  into  the 
water  if  they  can,  and  foul  it  in  a  short  time,  therefore,  it  is  better  to  have  some 
sort  of  a  slatted  cover  for  the  water  vessel  so  they  can  get  a  drink  without  get- 
ting  into   the   water. 

Ducks  are  voracious  eaters  and  should  be  kept  full  all  the  time,  as  they 
grow  in  proportion  to  their  appetites.  A  Pekin  duck  will  make  five  pounds  in 
ten  weeks  and  is  then  ready  to   sell  in  the   market. 

Pekin  ducks  are  also  profitable  as  egg  layers,  although  they  do  not  lay  quite 
as  well. 

Ducks  may  be  fed  whole  grain  if  desired.  A  good  plan  is  to  have  a  trough 
of  good  size  with  slats  over  the  top,  and  throw  their  grain  into  water  in  this 
trough.  They  delight  in  fishing  it  out  and  they  get  more  good  from  it  in  this 
way. 

Indian  Eunner  ducks  are  the  best  laying  fowls  we  have.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon for  them  to  lay  200  eggs  in  a  year,  and  they  keep  right  on  laying  for  two 
or  three  years  after-  they  begin.  I  have  known  Indian  Eunner  ducks  to  begin 
laying  at  five  months  old  and  keep  on  laying  right  through  the  winter.  Indian 
Eunners  are  too  small  for  market  ducks,  but  their  flesh  is  considered  very  good. 
They  weigh  from  3%  to  4%  pounds  at  full  size.  They  do  not  make  as  much 
noise  as  other  ducks.  They  do  not  waddle  like  other  ducks,  but  run  swiftly,  and 
a  flock    of   them   holding   their   heads   high   and   running   along   in   perfect   time, 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA  53 

wheeling  and  going  in  the  opposite  direction,  with  the  precision  of  a  troop  of 
soldiers,  is  worth  seeing. 

The  color  of  the  Indian  Runner  and  Pekin  duck  eggs  are  generally  whit6, 
yet  a  great  many  of  the  very  best  specimens  lay  a  greenish  colored  egg.  This 
does  not  indicate  impure  stock. 

The  Indian  Runner  is  becoming  very  popular  and  promises  to  maintain  its 
position  if  it  is  not  spoiled  in  trying  to  breed  to  fancy  color  points. 

The  breeding  of  ducks  would  no  doubt  be  as  profitable  in  the  West  as  it  is 
in  the  East,  but  no  one  seems  to  take  the  work  up.  Now  that  Indian  Runner 
ducks  are  becoming  recognized  as  the  very  best  layers  among  all  our  fowls,  I 
look  for  a  great  increase  in  the  interest  in  duck  breeding  and  believe  that  any 
one  who  makes  a  start  soon  will  find  a  demand  for  all  his  surplus  for  breeding 
purposes  for  a  long  time  to  come. 


Chapter  XII 

BREEDING  GEESE. 


The  breeding  of  geese  is  not  followed  as  a  regular  business  anywhere  in  this 
country  It  is  not  even  followed  as  a  specialty  except  in  a  few  very  small  dis'r 
tricts  where  geese  are  given  special  attention  for  certain  demands  of  the  market. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  geese  which  are  kept  especially  for  market  purposes 
in  this  country.  The  Toulouse,  a  gray  breed  with  white  markings,  and  the  Emb- 
den,  a  pure  white  breed.  Both  these  breeds  make  very  heavy  weights  and  bring 
the  highest  market  prices.  Toulouse  geese  fattened  by  special  feeding  to  become 
weighted  down  with  fat  frequently  sell  in  eastern  markets  as  high  as  twenty  to 
twenty-five  cents  a  pound.  These  very  heavy  geese  are  bought  by  Hebrew  fam- 
ilies, who  use  the  fat  in  the  place  of  lard  as  their  religion  forbids  them  to  use 
lard  as  food.  Geese  are  usually  hatched  by  chicken  hens,  a  hen  being  able  to 
cover  about  five  eggs.  The  eggs  hatch  in  thirty  days  and  the  goslings  must  be 
carefully  wTatched  for  a  few  days,  as  they  are  rather  tender. 

They  are  fed  much  in  the  same  manner  as  young  turkej's  at  first,  but  soon 
learn  to  pick  grass  and  then  they  begin  to  need  less  coddling  as  they  are  natural 
grazers  and  when  once  fairly  started  they  need  no  other  feed  but  good  pasture 
until  the  time  to  begin  feeding  them  grain  and  ground  feed  to  fit  them  for 
market. 

On  many  farms  geese  might  be  kept  with  great  profit  as  they  could  be  pas- 
tured on  wet  or  marshy  fields  and  turn  such  places  to  good  use.  They  need  a 
plentiful  supply  of  water  to  drink  and  if  they  can  have  a  small  pond  to  swim  in 
they  will  thrive  better  as  they  will  be  certain  of  a  plentiful  supply  of  drinking 
water. 

Those  who  breed  a  number  of  geese  usually  feed  them  a  little  grain  during 
the  whole  summer  after  they  are  hatched,  just  to  keep  them  accustomed  to  a 
grain  ration  and  to  keep  them  tame,  but  they  must  have  good  pasture  if  they 
are  to  make  large  size  and  strong  frames  on  which  to  lay  a  heavy  weight  of  fat 
when  they  are  ready  to  pen  up  and  feed  for  market. 

At  one  time  the  turkey  was  the  distinctive  Thanksgiving  bird,  but  lately 
the  goose  is  taking  the  place  of  the  turkey  to  some  extent,  and  for  the  Christ- 
mas trade  the  goose  is  the  recognized  bird  of  the  season. 

No  one  need  be  afraid  of  losing  money  on  geese.  They  are  more  profitable 
than  hogs,  and  are  not  subject  to  diseases  of  any  kind,  which  cannot  be  said  of 
turkeys. 

Geese  can  be  raised  cheaper  than  any  other  kind  of  poultry  and  cheaper  than 
pork  or  beef.  They  are  always  in  demand  at  good  prices  and  the  demand  is  in- 
creasing. Our  foreign  immigrants  are  teaching  Americans  that  the  goose  is  a 
fine  table  fowl  and  since  wild  geese  have  become  scarce  the  tame  goose  is  coming 
more  and  more   into   favor. 

When  geese  are  ready  to  be  fitted  for  market  they  should  be  put  into  a  small 
lot  where  they  can  have  all  the  water  they  will  drink.  They  may  be  fed  on  corn, 
buckwheat  and  oats.  Often  they  are  fed  on  corn  alone,  as  this  is  very  fattening 
and  the  geese  have  large  frames  and  plump  muscles  when  they  come  off  the  pas- 
ture so  the  only  thing  needed  is  to  put  on  the  fat. 

In   a  few  sections  a  special  cooked   feed  is  given   the   geese  that  are  being 


54  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


fattened,  this  being  made  into  ballls  and  put  down  their  throats  until  no  more 
can  be  forced  down,  but  this  requires  special  training  and  a  description  of  the 
process  would  not  do  any  good  in  this  place. 

The   goose   is   not   to   be   despised   when   considering   profitable    poultry,   and 
there  is  room  enough  in  this  country  for  a  great  many  more  than  are  now  kept. 


Chapter   XIII 

COMMON  DISEASES  OF  POULTRY. 


Blackhead  in  Turkeys. — This  disease  is  commonly  located  in  the  liver.  It 
often  causes  the  head  to  turn  a  dark  purple,  hence  its  common  name,  but  this 
symptom  does  not  always  appear.  If  turkeys  begin  to  droop  and  die,  one  that 
has  died  should  be  cut  open  and  the  liver  examined.  If  ring-like  sores  are  found 
on  the  liver  the  disease  is  blackhead.  There  is  no  cure  for  this  disease,  and 
where  it  appears  in  a  poultry  yard,  turkeys  should  be  disposed  of  and  none  kept 
for  several  years.  Chickens  and  other  poultry  rarely  have  blackhead,  although 
they  occasionally  do. 

White  Diarrhoea  in  Chicks.— This'  dreaded  disease  has  been  spreading  for 
several  years,  and  has  so  far  defied  treatment.  In  another  place  in  this  book, 
(Chapter  VII)  a  system  of  disinfecting  incubators,  eggs  and  brooders,  which  has 
proved  useful  in  warding  off  the  disease,  which  is  caused  by  germs  which  attack 
the  chick  at  the  time  it  is  hatched  and  increase  until  they  destroy  life  in  from 
ten  days  to  four  weeks,  is  given. 

Bumble  Foot. — This  is  really  a  stone  bruise  caused  by  jumping  from  a  fence 
or  other  high  place  onto  some  hard  object.  The  bottom  of  the  foot  is  bruised 
and  swells,  pus  forming  under  the  sole.  The  remedy  is  to  watch  the  swelling  until 
it  is  ready  to  open  and  then  open  with  a  sharp  knife,  wash  with  warm  soap  suds 
and  bathe  with  peroxide  of  hydrogen.  Keep  on  a  well  littered  floor  and  anoint 
with   carbolized   vaseline  until  the  wound  heals. 

Chicken  Pox  or  Sorehead. — This  is  caused  by  germs  and  is  very  contagious. 
It  may  be  carried  from  one  yard  to  another  by  stray  dogs  or  by  being  carried  on 
the  boots  of  visiting  poultrymen  who  have  been  in  yards  where  the  diseease  pre- 
vails, and  it  would  seem  that  it  is  sometimes  carried  in  the  air.  The  treatment 
is  to  thoroughly  disinfect  the  house  and  yards  with  cresol.  Wash  the  heads  of 
the  sick  fowls  with  warm  soap  suds  and  then  bathe  with  a  mixture  of  peroxide 
of  hydrogen  and  water,  half  and  half.  After  this  anoint  the  head  with  carbolied 
vaseline.  It  is  best  to  separate  the  sick  from  the  well  fowls  and  take  from  among 
the  well  ones  every  fowl  which  begins  to  show  signs  of  the  disease. 

G-apes. — This  disease  is  caused  by  worms  in  the  throat.  The  worms  are 
hatched  in  the  ground  and  chicks  pick  them  up  when  they  make  their  way  into 
the  windpipe  and  attach  themselves  to  the  lining.  When  they  become  numer- 
.ous  enough  to  obstruct  the  breathing  they  cause  gapes. 

The  disease  persists  year  after  year  when  it  once  appears.  If  chicks  are  not 
allowed  to  run  out  until  the  grass  is  dry  in  the  morning  or  after  rains  the  gape 
worms  will  never  trouble  them.  The  worms  crawl  up  on  grass  blades  at  night  and 
during  rains  and  return  to  cover  under  ground  as  soon  as  the  grass  becomes  dry, 
and  the  chicks  do  not  get  them.  The  worms  may  be  removed  by  stripping  a  quill 
feather  until  only  a  little  brush  is  left  at  the  end,  and  running  it  down  the  wind- 
pipe with  a  twisting  motion.  This  entangles  the  worms  in  the  feather  and  they 
are  drawn  out.  Shutting  the  afflicted  birds  in  a  small  space  and  sifting  slacked 
lime  over  them  until  they  cough  often  dislodges  the  worms. 

Liver  complaint — This  disease  is  becoming  more  common.  It  is  shown  by 
the  dark  color  of  the  comb  and  frequently  by  lameness  and  greenish  droppings. 
Jn  its  first  stages  it  may  be  relieved  by  giving  the  fowl  a  liver  pill  every  other 
day  for  a  week.     After  it  becomes  chronic,  it  is  incurable. 

Limberneck. — In  this  disease  the  sick  fowl  cannot  hold  its  head  off  the  ground. 
It  is  caused  by  eating  decaying  animal  matter.  Dead  animals  and  fowls,  even 
■dead  rats  and  mice,  should  always  be  buried  deeply  or  burned  so  fowls  cannot 
get  at  them  to  eat  them.  This  disease  sometimes  can  be  cured  by  giving  the 
sick  fowl  three  or  four  drops  of  turpentine  in  a  spoonful  of  sugar,  but  more  often 
the  bird  dies. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA  55 

GENERAL     INSTRUCTIONS      FOR      OPERATING     INCUBATORS     AND 

BROODERS. 


Any  of  the  standard  makes  of  incubators  will  be  found  to  outdo  sitting- 
hens  in  every  way.  The  advantage  of  using  incubators  instead  of  hens  is  that 
they  never  break-up,  you  can  set  them  at  any  time  you  please  and  a  200-egg 
machine  will  hatch  out  at  one  time  as  many  chicks  as  you  could  get  from  fifteen 
or  more  hens. 

'lhe  makers  of  incubators  have  the  art  of  incubation  down  so  fine  that 
any  one  running  one  of  the  standard  makes  of  today,  according  to  the  manufac- 
turer s  directions,  cannot  help  but  get  even  better  results  than  it  would  be 
possible  to  get  from  hens  with  the  same  eggs.  Be  sure  to  get  strongly  fertilized 
eggs   from  good>,  hardy,  vigorous,   thorough ored  stock. 

It  might  not  be  out  oi  place  here  tor  me  to  give  the  reader  of  this  book 
a  few  pointers  from  my  experience,  which  they  may  profit  by.  Any  well  ventilated 
room  where  the  temperature  can  be  kept  even  is  the  proper  place  to  operate 
an  incubator.  In  this  respect,  there  is  nothing  that  can  equal  a  good  cellar. 
In  such  a  place,  a  machine  with  a  regulator  worth  the  name  can  keep  the 
temperature  of  the  egg  chamber  just  what  it  should  be  through  the  liatch. 
Don't  expect  a  machine  to  hatch  chicks  from  any  old  thing  in  the  shape  of 
eggs.  Be  sure  of  the  vigor  of  your  breeding  stock.  No  machine  on  earth  can 
incubate  a  strong  chick  from  a  weak  germ.  Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken 
in  selecting  a  good  grade  of  highest  oil  to  use  in  the  lamp  if  you  want  it  to 
do  its  best. 

If  you  are  operating  a  hot  water  machine,  fill  the  tank  full  then  draw 
off  about  one  quart,  if  you  fill  with  cold  water,  but  if  you  fill  with  hot  water 
you  do  not  need  to  draw  any  off.  When  water  is  heated  it  expands.  At  the 
end  of  every  hatch  add  a  pint  or  a  quart  of  water  as  the  case  may  require  to 
compensate  for  evaporation  during  hatch. 

Set  the  machine  level  and  run  it  two  or  three  days  before  putting  in  eggs, 
or  at  least  until  you  thoroughly  understand  it  and  can  keep  the  temperature 
about  right  for  2-4  hours;  place  the  thermometer  about  six  inches  from  the 
door  in  the  end  next  to  the  lamp  with  bulb  of  thermometer  about  one  and 
a  fourth  inches  from  the  bottom  of  tray  as  that  is  about  the  distance  eggs 
will  be  when  in  the  machine.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  heat  is  higher  in 
one  end  of  the  incubator  than  the  other  end,  can  easily  be  overcome  by 
slightly  elevating  the  cold  end,  raising  the  cold  end  one-half  inch  will  make 
one  or  two  degrees  difference  in  the  temperature.  Move  the  thermometer  from 
one  end  to  the  other  when  testing  for  an  even  distribltion  of  heat  before  you 
put  in  the  eggs  to  see  that  the  temperature  is  right  all  over  the  machine  then 
it   will  give  you  no  more  trouble. 

The  proper  position  of  the  thermometer  is  lying  between  two  fertile  eggs 
with  the  top  of  the  bulb  about  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  eggs.  It  does 
not  differ  materially  whether  the  eggs  are  fertile  or  not  until  after  the  tenth 
day  of  incubation.  Every  one-fourth  inch  nearer  the  tank  you  get  makes  a 
little  more  than  one  degree  difference  in  heat. 

Proper  Temperature. 

The  proper  temperature  for  all  kinds  of  eggs  is  about  102  the  first  week 
and  103  the  last  two  weeks.  Any  variation  of  temperature  from  90  degrees 
to  106  for  a  short  time  will  not  spoil  a  hatch.  I  never  like  to  have  the  heat  get 
above  103  the  first  week  and  the  last  eight  or  ten  days  of  incubation  if  the  tem- 
perature should  run  up  to  105  occasionally  do  not  be  alarmed.  But  try  to  keep 
the  heat  as  near  102  and  103  as  you  can.  While  hatching  the  temperature 
often  runs  up  to  104  and  105,  which  will  do  no  harm  providing  the  bulb  of  the 
thermometer  rests  on  a  live  egg,  otherwise  the  temperature  of  live  eggs  would 
be   two   or   three   degrees   warmer   than   the    thermometer    indicates. 

Putting  in  the  Eggs. 

Always  run  your  machine  two  or  three  days  before  putting  in  the  eggs  or 
until  you  thoroughly  understand  the  regulator  and  can  keep  the  temperature 
about  right  for  twenty-four  hours.  After  you  have  made  one  or  two  hatches 
this  is  not  necessary.  Then  just  run  long  enough  until  you  can  adjust  the 
regulator  to  103  degrees.     One  of  the  most  important  points  is  to  get  good  eggs. 


3G  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


The  fresher  an  egg  is  the  better  it  will  hatch.  Eggs  two  weeks  old  will 
hatch  fairly  well,  but  not  as  good  as  eggs  a  week  old.  I  do  not  like  to  set  eggs 
over  a  week  or  ten  days  old.  We  never  send  out  eggs  over  a  week  old  and 
generally  speaking,  they  are  not  over  two  days  old.  Put  all  of  the  eggs  in 
the  machine  at  one  time.  Eggs  cannot  be  added  at  different  times,  as  the 
animal  heat  would  be  different.  It  is  not  necessary  to  put  in  all  the  eggs 
that  the  incubator  will  hold  at  one  time.  If  you  wish  to  put  in  only  100 
or  less  in  a  200-egg  machine  you  cannot  add  more  eggs  until  that  hatch  is 
completed.  Turn  the  eggs  twice  a  day,  beginning  on  the  morning  of  the 
second  day.  After  your  incubator  is  regulated  and  ready  for  the  eggs  and  you 
put  the  eggs  in,  the  thermometer  will  fall  so  low  you  cannot  read  the  temperature. 
It  will  take  four  to  eight  hours  for  the  temperature  to  get  back  to  102 
degrees.  Now  do  not  adjust  the  regulator  to  get  heat  up  quickly.  The  eggs 
must  be  warmed  up  very  gradual  and  if  the  heat  does  not  get  up  to  102 
degrees  in  twenty-four  hours  just  adjust  the  regulator  slightly  by  loosening 
the  adjusting  screw  so  the  cap  over  the  heat  flue  will  drop  down  over  it, 
then  usually  the  temperature  will  raise  one  or  two  degrees  before  „the  cap 
of  the  heat  flue  will  again  rise. 

What  is  a  Good  Hatch? 
Some  people  think  all  eggs  will  hatch.  This  is  a  mistake.  Usually  about 
75  per  cent  of  the  fertile  eggs  will  hatch,  sometimes  many  more.  Other 
times  a  great  many  eggs  will  show  fertile  the  first  test  but  the  germs  are 
so  weak  from  some  cause  that  they  will  die  at  all  stages  of  incubation. 
About  75  per  cent  of  the  fertile,  eggs  is  the  average  hatch.  Sometimes  we  do 
not  get  so  many  and  other  times  many  more.  Now  this  is  the  case,  no  matter 
what  kind  of  an  incubator  you  use  or  whether  you  set  eggs  under  hens  or  in 
an  incubator.  As  a  usual  thing  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent  of  the  eggs  prove 
infertile.  This  varies  according  to  the  season  of  the  year  and  conditions  of  the 
hens  that  lay  the  eggs. 

Where  Shall  I  Set  My  Incubator? 

No  doubt  the  best  location  for  an  incubator  is  in  a  good  cellar  or  basement. 
The  temperature  is  much  more  even  in  a  place  of  this  kind  and  your  incu- 
bator does  not  require  nearly  so  much  attention,  although  good  work  can  be 
done  in  most  any  location,  but  I  would  prefer  a  room  on  the  north  side  of  the 
house  or  where  the  changes  in  temperature  is  not  too  great.  The  trouble  in 
operating  incubators  in  warm  weather  above  ground  is  the  outside  heat  being 
too  near  the  hatching  point.  The  regulator  will  be  of  little  use  where  the 
as  after  the  first  ten  days  the  eggs  generate  a  great  deal  of  heat.  Sometimes 
there  is  no  danger  of  eggs  over  heating  in  warm  weather  with  the  lamp  turned 
outside  temperature  is  85  or  90  degrees  when  the  machine  is  full  of  live  eggs. 
as  low  as  it  will  burn,  or  without  any  lamp  flame  for  that  matter.  In  cases  of 
this  kind,  the  incubator  will  have  to  be  opened  frequently  and  the  eggs  aired  so 
as  to  keep  the  heat  down.  If  you  are  operating  your  machine  in  a  basement 
or  cellar  you  do  not  have  any  of  this  trouble.  See  that  you  have  fairly  good 
ventilation.  Dampness  cuts  no  figure.  The  incubator  will  hatch  just  as  well 
if  there  is  a  running  stream   of  water  under  it,  if  the   air  is  good  in  the  room. 

Care  of  the  Lamp. 
Fill  your  lamp  once  a  day.  If  your  incubator  is  running  in  a  cool  place 
and  takes  nearly  a  full  flame  it  might  be  well  to  look  after  the  lamp  twice  a 
day,  although  this  is  seldom  necessary.  Clean  your  burner  every  day  with  a 
tooth  brush.  When  putting  your  lamp  back  on  the  bracket  be  sure  the  lamp 
burner  is  properly  closed  so  the  lamp  will  not  smoke  nor  the  flame  flicker.  When- 
ever the  flame  flickers,  that  shows  that  something  is  wrong.  Never  turn  on  a 
full  flame  and  go  off  and  leave  your  lamp.  The  burner  will  become  very  hot 
and  draw  more  oil  and  in  a  good  many  cases  the  flame  will  burn  too  high  and 
cause  it  to  smoke.  After  lighting  a  lamp  when  it  is  cool,  always  bear  in 
mind  that  the  blaze  will  burn  much  higher  after  it  becomes  warm.  Use  the 
best  kerosene  you  can  get.     Do  not  use  poor  oil  under  any  circumstances. 

Turning  and  Cooling  the  Eggs. 
After   trying   three    or   four    dozen    devices   for   turning    eggs   and    all   kinds 


HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY  57 

of  patent  egg  trays,  I  have  coine  to  the  conclusion  that  the  plain  wire  trays 
are  the  best.  It  is  necessary  to  take  the  eggs  out  of  the  machine  to  cool  them 
and  turning  should  be  done  at  the  same  time.  To  turn  the  eggs  remove  about 
two  rows  ±rom  one  end  of  the  trays  (after  you  test  out  you  have  room  with- 
out taking  any  out)  and  lay  them  on  something  convenient,  then  take  your 
hand  and  roll  the  rest  of  the  eggs  to  that  end.  Now  it  is  not  necessary  to  mark 
the  eggs  to  see  if  they  are  all  turned.  That  is  all  bosh.  Just  roll  them  around 
every  time  take  them  out.  You  cool  them  twice  a  day,  in  fact  it  does  not 
harm  them  to  stir  them  up  four  or  five  times  a  day.  Hens  are  rolling  their  eggs 
around  every  little  while,  but  they  do  not  pay  any  particular  attention  to  turn- 
ing them  over  every  time,  just  shifting  them  in  the  nest.  After  turning,  change 
places  of  your  trays.  The  one  nearest  the  lamp  put  in  end  farthest  from  the 
lamp,  also  change  end  for  end  should  there  be  any  difference  in  the  heat 
of  the  egg  chamber.  This  will  overcome  it  to  a  large  extent.  No  set  rules 
can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  length  of  time  to  cool  eggs.  I  usually  leave 
the  thermometer  on  the  eggs  with  the  bulb  laying  between  two  eggs.  When 
the  temperature  goes  down  to  85  or  90  degrees  1  put  the  eggs  back  in  the 
machine.  If  you  are  operating  in  a  cool  place  the  temperature  will  go  down 
very  quickly,  but  take  plenty  of  time  to  turn  your  eggs.  After  turning  eggs, 
sometimes  the  heat  will  rise  and  the  regulator  will  blow  off  or,  what  I  mean 
by  that,  the  cap  will  raise  from  the  heat  flue  before  the  temperature  gets 
back  to  where  it  was  before  you  turned  the  eggs.  This  is  caused  by  the 
air  in  the  incubator  being  warmer  than  the  eggs.  Eggs  will  soon  warm 
up  to  the  temperature  of  the  air.  If  they  should  not  in  two  or  three  hours, 
sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  loosen  the  adjusting  screw  just  a  trifle  and  let 
the  little  cap  down  on  the  heat  flue.  This  is  never  necessary  unless  you 
are  operating  incubators  in  a  cool  place.  After  chickens  begin  to  hatch  they 
will  come  toward  the  light,  and  fall  to  the  nursery  below.  Leave  them  ber*1 
until  the  hatch  is  over,  but  if  they. should  seem  too  crowded  and  want  to  get 
out,  take  a  few  of  the  strongest  ones  out,  but  not  over  a  dozen  or  two  at  a  time, 
as  when  you  remove  chicks  from  the  nursery  the  temperature  of  the  machine 
is  lowered,  therefore  you  will  have  to  turn  on  a  trifle  more  heat.  It  does  no 
harm  to  open  the  door  once  and  a  while  when  chicks  are  hatching,  but  do  not 
leave  it  open  until  the  chicks  become  chilled.  Use  judgment  in  cases  of 
this  kind. 

What  You  Should  Do  in  Case  of  an  Accident. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  incubator  tank  wall  leak  when  you  have  a 
hatch  in.  Sometimes  it  will  leak  badly.  After  it  leaks  so  the  water  will 
drop  down  it  will  make  too  much  moisture  and  should  be  fixed.  Now  if  your 
incubator  is  filled  with  eggs  and  your  tank  should  leak  from  some  unknown 
cause,  which  is  very  seldom,  do  not  imagine  your  hatch  is  ruined.  Re- 
move the  top  of  the  incubator  by  taking  out  the  screwrs  and  then  remove  the 
tank  from  the  incubator.  If  you  cannot  do  the  soldering  yourself  take  it  to 
your  nearest  tincer.  Cover  the  eggs  up  with  a  warm  blanket.  If  operating 
the  incubator  in  a  very  cool  place  put  the  eggs  in  some  warm  place  in  the 
house  and  cover  with  something  warm.  In  my  time  I  have  had  all  kinds  of 
experience  with  tanks  that  would  leak  and  everything  else.  One  incuabtor 
in  a  hundred  might  start  to  leaking.  I  just  merely  mentioned  this  so  you 
wouid  know  what  to  do  in  case  of  an  accident.  I  have  had  eggs  out  of  a  ma- 
chine all  day  covered  up  and  it  did  not  seem  to  injure  the  hatch  a  particular. 
When  you  fill  the  tank  fill  it  with  hot  soft  water.  At  the  end  of  every  hatch 
you  wTill  probably  want  to  add  a  pint  of  water  to  take  the  place  of  what  evap- 
orates. 

Moisture  and  Ventilating. 

I  believe  more  chickens  have  died  from  putting  moisture  in  the  incuabtor 
than  have  been  helped  out  of  the  shell  by  it,  therefore  I  have  settled  the  mois- 
ture question  by  leaving  it  out  altogether  and  the  results  have  been  better 
than  when  moisture  was  used.  For  a  number  of  years  we  never  used  but  little 
moisture  at  the  end  of  the  hatch  and  that  was  not  necessary.  More  ventilation 
is  needed  during  warm  weather  than  early  in  the  spring. 

-After  trying  all  kinds  of  ventilation  schemes  for  years  I  have  found  out 
that  just  a  two-inch  hole  in  the  top  of  the  incubator  with  no  other  ventilation 
is  the  very  best  ventilation  that  you  can  get.  Some  will  tell  you  that  this 
is   no  ventilation  at  all,  but   it  is  just   the   same   and  from  hundreds   of   experi- 


58  FRANK  FOY,  DES   MOINES,  IOWA 


raents  I  have  settled  on  this  mode   of  ventilation  as  being  the  best.     Facts  are 
what  count.     Theories  amount  to  nothing.  s 

In  the  spring  time  run  the  ventilators  about  one-third  open  the  first  week, 
the  second  week  one-half  open  and  the  third  week  a  little  more  than  one-half 
unless  the  air  cells  seem  to  be  getting  larger  on  an  average  than  the  appear 
to   be   in   the   illustration.     A   general   average   has   to   be    struck. 

General  Instructions. 
If  the  machine  is  full  of  live  eggs  the  last  ten  days  of  incubation  the  heat 
will  have  a  tendency  to  run  up,  caused  by  the  animal  heat  in  the  eggs;  at 
such  times  the  regulator  will  have  to  be  adjusted  a  little  every  two  or  three 
days  on  any  machine.  In  addition  to  cooling  the  eggs  twice  a  day,  I  have  had 
best  results  by  opening  the  machine,  pulling  the  trays  out  a  little,  and  letting 
eggs  cool  down  three  or  four  degrees.  In  winter  and  early  spring  time  they  do 
not  need  so  much  cooling  as  in  warm  weather.  In  hatching  eggs  artificially  we 
are  imitating  nature,  and  we  should  study  nature's  methods  very  closely; 
many  a  time  I  have  watched  old  biddy  and  saw  her  standing  up  on  the  nest 
seven  or  eight  days  before  the  hatch  was  due.  At  that  time  the  animal  heat  in 
the  egg  is  very  strong  and  the  eggs  have  a  tendency  to  overheat  themselves, 
especially  in  warm  weather;  by  natural  instinct  the  hen  knows  when  they  need 
cooling. 

Hints  on  Ventilation. — It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  experienced  operators  that 
the  greater  the  difference  in  the  outside  and  inside  temperature,  the  more  air 
will  pass  through.  As  the  air  on  the  inside  of  the  machine  becomes  hot,  it  will 
rise,  expand,  and  be  forced  through  the  ventilator,  while  the  cold  air  will  rush 
in.  Naure  will  not  allow  a  vacuum;  when  the  outside  temperature  is  high,  thus 
nearer  the  temperature  inside,  less  artificial  heat  is  needed,  therefore  the  inside 
expansion  will  be  decreased,  and  the  rush  of  air  through  the  ventilator  lessened; 
'  therefore  give  more  ventilation  during  warm  weather  than  cold. 

Testing  Eggs. 
Eggs   should  be   tested   on   the   tenth       two   fertile   eggs   after   the    tenth    day, 
day   and   again   on   the   fifteenth.      The       as    au    infertile   egg   will    show   two    or 

.,,   , ,  n  i  n     i  three  degrees  less  heat  than  a  live  one. 

germ  will  then  appear  as  a  small  black  Q  .  °   ,    .  ...  . 

°  1 1  borne    incubator    manufacturers    say   to 

spot  with   veins  radiating  in   all  direc-  test  on  the  fourtk   0r  fifth   day,  but  it 

tions.      On   the   tenth   day   addled   eggs  takes  an  expert  to  test  then  and  it  does 

will  look   cloudy,   detached  black  spots  no  harm  to  let  them  go  until  the  tenth 

floating  in  the   egg  without  any  veins  day.     On  the  tenth  day  the  experienced 

attached.      As    stated      previously,    the  operator   can   tell   at   a   glance  whether 

thermometer  should  be  placed  between  they  are  fertile  or  not. 

Brooder  Directions. 

Now  the  place  to  operate  your  brooder  would  be  in  a  small  colony  house  or 
any  out-building.  We  would  much  prefer  to  operate  them  there  than  out  of 
doors,  especially  when  the  chickens  are  very  young.  About  ten  or  twelve 
hours  before  you  intend  to  remove  the  chicks  from  the  incubator,  I  would  start 
the  lamp  on  the  brooder.  Burn  a  small  blaze  and  be  very  careful  and  do  not 
turn  the  lamjj  too  high,  for  when  the  burner  gets  warm  it  will  burn  too  high 
and  become  dangerous.  Do  not  stop  up  the  space  between  the  door  of  the 
lamp  box  and  floor.  This  space  is  left  to  give  the  lamp  air.  It  must  have 
plenty  of  fresh  air  or  it  will  smoke.  The  proper  temperature  for  the  brooder  is 
about  85  or  90  degrees  when  the  chicks  are  young,  but  as  they  grow  older 
decrease  the  temperature.  When  they  are  too  warm  they  will  open  their  mouths 
and  pant.  If  too  cold  they  will  huddle  up  to  the  lamp.  Give  them  plenty  of 
ventilation.  This  can  be  done  most  effectively  by  raising  the  door  slightly 
and  putting  something  under  it.  Dry  chaff  is  an  excellent  thing  to  use  in  the 
bottom  of  the  brooder. 

Now,  in  conclusion  will  say,  be  careful  and  do  not  turn  your  lamp  up  too 
high,  either  in  the  incubator  or  brooder  and  always  remember  when  you  light 
a  cold  lamp  the  blaze  will  burn  much  higher  when  it  warms  up. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES   MOINES,  IOWA 


59 


BROILER  RAISING  ON  A  TOWN  LOT. 

On  a  town  lot  of  one  quarter  of  an  acre  there  is  nothing  that  could  possibly 
bring  the  same  returns  as  a  100-foot  brooder  house.  Such  a  house  would  ac- 
commodate 1,000  chicks  and  the  one-quarter  acre  of  ground  would  give  an 
abundance  of  ground  for  the  chicks  to  get  fresh  air,  exercise  and  a  plenty  of 
green   food,   such   a   plant   should   prove    an   excellent   investment. 

The  care  .of  the  thousand  broilers  would  not  take  more  than  half  of  a 
person 's  time,  and  the  returns  from  the  business  would  net  much  more  than  a 
comfortable  living.  Just  figure  out  for  yourself  the  fine  returns  that  are 
assured  from  such  an  investment  as  this  and  if  you  know  of  anything  that 
will  prove  a  better  way  of  investing  a  little  money  I  would  consider  it  a  great 
favor  if  you  would   let  me   know  of  it. 


A  MODERN  POULTRY  FARM  BUILT  ON  THE  COLONY  PLAN. 
Egg  Farming  on  the  Colony  Plan  is  Most  Successful  in  Mild  Climates. 

Where  the  item  of  labor  is  concerned  or  where  a  person's  time  for  caring 
for  poultry  is  limited,  the  production  of  eggs  as  a  specialty  presents  many 
attractions.  Hens  are  well  capable  to  look  after  themselves  and  can  get  along 
nicely  with  but  little  care  on  the  part  of  their  owner.  When  given  free 
range  they  forage  for  themselves  and  the  only  work  necessary  in  caring  for 
them  is  to  throw  out  a  little  feed  once  or  twice  a  day  and  clean  up  the  house 
once  in  a  while  and  the  birds  will  keep  in  good  health  and  shell  out  eggs  in 
abundance.  Where  birds  are  confined  in  close  quarters  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  spend  much  more  time  in  caring  for  them  and  keeping  their 
houses  and  yards  scrupulously  clean.  A  little  neglect,  that  seemed  at  the 
time  to  be  but  of  small  consequence,  where  the  so-called  intensive  poultry 
farming  is  carried   on  has  often  meant  the  loss   of  the  best  of  the  flock. 

Where  any  one  lives  in  a  mild  climate,  and  has  lots  of  room  and  no 
near  neighbors,  I  can  recommend  the  colony  plan.  Its  advantages  being  a  great 
saving  in  feed  and  care,  healthier  stock  and  a  much  larger  number  of  fertile 
eggs  from  said  stock.  The  idea  of  keeping  hens  on  the  colony  plan  originated 
in  Rhode  Island  and  has  been  copied  extensively  in  California  with  marked 
success  ,and  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  more  generally  practiced 
in  every  part  of  our  country.  In  northern  states  where  heavy  snow  falls  are 
a  regular  thing  through  the  winter  the  plan  would  be  hardly  practical  the 
vear  round.     Rhode  Island  is  known  as  a  northern  state  but  being  on  the  coast 


60  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


the  climate  is  much  more  temperate  than  either  western  New  York  or  western 
Massachusetts.  In  fact  there  is  something  about  the  air  along  the  coast  that 
seems  to  melt  the  snow  about  as  fast  as  it  tails.  But  to  get  back  to  the 
colony  plan  of  keeping  hens,  to  be  more  explicit,  the  birds  are  housed  in  small 
cheaphouses  rarely  over  100  square  feet  in  the  floor  space.  In  a  mild  climate 
no  floor  would  be  necessary  in  these  houses.  Eoosts,  dropping  boards,  nests, 
water  cans,  grit  and  shell  boxes  and  all  other  necessary  appliances  should  be 
well  kept  off  the  ground  so  as  to  give  the  birds  full  floor  space.  It  is  an 
excellent  plan  to  build  their  houses  on  two  timbers  for  runners  and  then  it 
is  possible  to  move  them  to  a  new  location  at  any  time.  They  can  be  built 
similar  to  illustrations.  Twenty  to  thirty  hens  can  be  kept  in  one  of  these 
houses  according  to  whether  they  must  be  confined  or  not,  the  larger  number 
would  be  all  right  as  long  as  the  climate  allowed  them  to  get  out  of  doors 
every  day  in  the  year.  When  practiced  on  an  extensive  scale  these  houses  are 
placed  about  fifty  yards  apart  all  over  the  farm.  Feed  and  water  being  dis- 
tributed from  house  to  house  twice  a  day  from  a  wagon.  In  Rhode  Island  the 
colony  poultry  farmers  call  these  wagons  "dough  carts,"  dough  being  their 
name  for  mash  which  with  them  generally  constitutes  one  of  the  two  feeds 
given  daily.  On  these  Rhode  Island  colony  poultry  farms  one  will  often  find  a 
thousand  or  more  hens  on  the  same  place  in  small  flocks  of  not  over  thirty 
to  a  house.  One  who  has  not  seen  one  of  these  colony  poultry  farms  in 
operation,  at  first  thought  may  think  it  extremely  improbable  for  hens  to 
keep  to  their  own  houses  without  being  yarded  ,but  it  is  a  fact  that  with 
very  few  exceptions  the  birds  will  return  to  their  own  house  at  night  no  matter 
how  far  they  may  have  wandered  away  during  the  day.  To  get  them  to 
know  their  own  house  it  is  only  necessary  to  put  a  small  temporary  yard 
in  front  of  a  house  when  pullets  are  housed  in  the  fall.  By  confining  the 
birds  to  this  yard  for  about  two  weeks  they  learn  the  location  of  their  own 
house,  and  when  given  their  liberty  they  will  always  return  to  it.  If  we 
would  but  take  notice  we  would  find  this  housing  instinct  in  all  wild  animals; 
they  each  have  their  own  particular  place  to  go  when  seeking  rest. 

POULTRY  POINTERS. 

The  natural  food  of  the  hen  is  grain,  seeds,  insects,  bugs  and  green  stuff, 
a  pretty  well  balanced  ration.  If  this  kind  of  food  is  not  supplied  little 
success  in  egg-production  will  be  obtained.  When  poultry  is  confined  to  small 
yards  and  cannot  get  nature 's  food,  it  must  be  supplied  in  the  shape  of  animal 
meal,  green  cut  bone,  beef  scraps  or  lean  meat.  Unless  supplied  with  such 
food,  the  eggs  will  be  small  and  poorly  fertilized,  nothing  like  eggs  from  good 
healthy  hens   that  have   free  range. 


The  idea  that  nature  will  suply  both  food  and  shelter  must  be  banished  be- 
fore the  hen  can  be  made  profitable.  Houses  must  be  built,  food  must  be 
given  and  water  and  grit  must  be  supplied. 


Men  established  different  enterprises,  spend  thousands  of  dollars  for  stock, 
hundreds  of  dollars  for  advertising  and  feel  rejoiced  if  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year  they  come  out  even,  and  if  in  the  second  year  they  make  interest  on  their 
investment  they  are  satisfied.  Yet  let  these  same  men  buy  land  and  start  a 
poultry  farm,  and  if  they  do  not  realize  an  enormous  interest  at  once  they 
grow  tired  and  give  up  in  despair. 


A  great  many  people  will  not  stick  long  enough  to  one  breed  to  know  best 
how  to  bring  out  its  good  qualities.  Or  they  are  dividing  up  among  so  many 
breeds  that  they  do  not  succeed  with  any  and  finally  either  conclude  all  they 
have  are  no  good  or  that  the  whole  chicken  business  is  a  failure,  anyhow. 


The  pleasures  of  poultry  keeping,  the  profits  of  the  business,  and  the  health 
of  the  stock,  depend  more  upon  the  cleanliness  of  the  premises  than  any 
other  one  thing.  The  practice  of  having  the  roosting-poles  over  the  nests  in  the 
alley,  having  dropping  boards  to  collect  the  offal,  and  infrequent  cleanings, 
make  the  owner  ashamed  to  take  guests  to  the  poultry  houses,  and  the  odor 
drives  them  away  if  they  do  go.  Looking  over  ill  smelling  roosts  disgusts  the 
visitor,  and  he  sees  no  beauty  in  the  flock. 


FRANK  FOY,  DES  MOINES,  IOWA  61 

This  is  a  good  time  to  start  your  son  or  daughter  in  the  poultry  business. 
Let  them  care  for  the  flock,  market  the  produce  and  have  the  returns  for  their 
own  spending.  If  they  cannot  get  enough  out  of  the  flock  to  pay  for  their 
keep  you  inquire  into  the  management  and  suggest  the  remedy,  for  poultry 
will  pay  if  managed  rightly. 

One  of  the  advantages  in  poultry  production  is  that  returns  come  quickly. 
With  the  exception  of  strawberries,  there  is  practically  no  line  of  small  fruits 
on  which  you  can  begin  to  realize  inside  of  three  years;  a  milch  cow  does  not 
approach  her  full  power  of  production  short  of  three  and  a  half  years;  apple 
trees  do  not  begin  to  bear  freely  short  of  seven  or  eight  years.  How  is  it 
with  the  hen?  Three  weeks  from  the  setting  of  the  hen  you  have  a  batch 
of  chickens;  from  four  to  four  and  a  half  months  from  hatching  the  cockerels 
are  ready  for  the  market,  and  in  five  to  five  and  a  half  months  the  pullets 
will  begin  to  lay. 


Beginners  often  get  discouraged,  in  competing  with  their  neighbors  for 
eggs,  because  they  forget  to  take  into  consideration  the  respective  breeds 
grown  by  themselves  and  their  neighbors.  Perhaps  the  neighbor  raises  the 
Leghorn,  Black  Spanish  or  other  small  breed,  noted  for  its  egg  producing 
qualities,  while  the  beginner  has  purchased  a  heavier  breed,  not  specially 
noted  for  eggs.  These  heavier  breeds  are  grown  for  other  qualities  as  well  as 
for  the  number  of  eggs.  In  comparing  the  different  breeds  you  might  just  as 
well  compare  a  draft  horse  with  a  trotter,  and  expect  the  work  horse  to  travel 
as  fast  as  the  race  horse. 


Don't  open  the  incubator  to  give  the  hatching  chicks  air  because  they  seem 
to  be  gasping-  for  breath.  They  are  simply  unaccustomed  to  breathing  the  free  air 
and  just  after  coming  out  of  the  shell  they  are  very  much  like  a  fish  out  of 
water,  and  gasp  for  a  little  while.     This  fills  their  lungs  and  makes  them  strong. 


On  most  farms,  the  receipts  from  poultry  products  are  clear  gain;  but  there 
are  plenty  of  farmers  throughout  the  northwest  who  can  well  afford  to  make 
poultry  raising  more  than  a  mere  incident  or  side  issue.  And  more  and  more 
farmers  are  coming  to  realize  this,  to  their  profit. 


Pullets  can  stand  a  little  heavier  feeding  with  corn  and  wheat  than  old  hens 
can,  but  even  pullets  fatten  much  more  readily  than  the  young  roosters  do,  so 
it  is  well  not  to  feed  very  much  corn  to  them,  probably  one-fourth  corn,  one- 
fourth  wheat  and  half  oats  would  make  a  good  ration  for  layers  at  the  present 
prices.  Some  will  probably  use  mostly  wheat, '  but  we  consider  oats  the  best 
grain  for  egg  production   and  prefer  to  have  the  ration   at  least   half   oats. 


The  male  bird  is  half  of  the  flock.     A   mistake   in   selecting  in  this  respect 
is  a  mistake  that  reaches  the  whole  season's  output. 


A  good  many  people  seem  to  think  it  requires  some  mysterious  and  hard-to- 
obtain  knowledge  to  make  a  success  of  the  poultry  business.  This  is  a  mistake. 
It  simply  requires  the  exercise  of  good  common  sense  and  the  industry  that  is 
necesary  to  success  in  any  line  of  human  endeavor. 


One  of  the  first  things  a  beginner  desires  to  know  is  which  is  the  best  breed 
for  him  to  handle.  It  would  appear  to  him  that  this  ought  to  be  an  easy  ques- 
tion to  answer,  and  yet  it  is  one  that  can  hardly  be  answered  by  even  the  vet- 
eran breeder.  It  is  no  nearer  a  solution  now  than  it  was  a  score  of  vears  ago. 
It  probably  never  will  be  answered  satisfactorily  to  all  breeders.  It  is  very 
readily  seen  that  the  breed  that  would  be  best  for  one  person  or  one  locality 
would  be  wholly  unsuited  for  another  For  this  reason  the  person,  the  environ- 
ments, the  climate  and  the  market  conditions  must  be  factor-s  in  determining 
which  is  the  best  breed 


The    Mediterranean    class    has    become    much    more    popular    than    it    was    a 
few  years  ago     People   are  learning  that  eggs  are   a  profitable   crop  to   produce. 

"Damaged  grain  is  the  most  expensive  food  we  can  give  our  hens.     Green  food 


62  HOW  TO  MAKE  POULTRY  KEEPING  PAY 


we  must  have  every  day  in  the  year,  unless  the  yards  are  large  enough  to 
be  kept  in  grass  during  the  growing  season.  Meat  must  be  fed  every  day 
for  best  results. 


If  furnishing  eggs  for  table  use  is  your  branch  of  the  poultry  business, 
there  is  no  need  of  having  males  in  the  flock.  In  fact,  it  is  better  to  have  none. 
It  saves  feed;  it  saves  worry  of  the  hens. 


The  beginning  who  has  plenty  of  ambition,  determination  and  pluck  will  suc- 
ceed in  the  business  if  he  stays  by  it.  He  should  not  go  off  after  strange  gods, 
nor  jump  at  conclusions,  nor  engage  in  giganic  schemes,  or  let  himself  be  led 
by  "get  rich  quick"  schemes.  A  good  beginning  is  essential  and  this  need  not 
necessarily  result  in  a  bad  ending.  A  gradual  beginning  is  most  often  prolific 
of  good  results. 


Poultry  and  Eggs  Are  Cash. 

Anything  that  brings  cash  returns  every  day  in  the  year  assists  the  fa  "mer 
in  passing  over  the  long  period  from  harvest  to  harvest.  A  crop  of  wheat 
brings  returns  at  a  certain  period  of  the  year.  The  principal  source  of  cash 
on  many  farms  in  the  winter  season  is  the  poultry.  The  basket  of  eggs  that 
goes  to  market  always  brings  cash,  and  in  the  year  of  the  owners.  Feed  them  well 
in  winter,  and  they  will  respond  to  the  good  treatment.  Eggs  brought  good 
prices  last  winter,  and  gave  more  profit  in  proportion  to  the  cost  of  materials 
entering  into  their  composition  than  any  other  animal  production  on  farms. 


A  hen  is  not,  as  some  people  seem  to  suppose,  a  machine  that  is  capable  of 
manufacturing-  something  for  nothing. 


Wheat  contains  a  larger  per  cent  of  albumen  than  any  other  grain  and  for 
this  reason  it  is  one  of  the  best  grains  to  feed  for  egg  production.  It  should 
not  be  made   an  exclusive  ration,  however. 

Bowel  trouble  that  carries  off  many  chicks  when  one  or  two  weeks  old  may 
be  often  corrected  and  taking  away  their  drinking  water  and  giving  scalded  milk 
instead. 


Did  you  ever  notice  that  usually  there  is  a  well  bred  and  well  cared  for  flock 
of  j)Oultry  on  a  paying  farm.     Is  there  any  connection  between  these  two  facts? 

How  Much  Profit? 
Most  of  the  experienced  poultrymen  estimate  that  each  hen  will  afford  a 
profit  of  two  dollars  a  year.  This  may  seem  small  to  some,  but  it  means  after 
the  interest  on  capital,  food  and  other  cash  expenses  are  paid.  It  is  really  a 
large  profit,  as  most  of  the  hens  are  not  valued  at  more  than  half  that  sum 
each,  and  with  a  flock  of  fifteen  hens  it  represents  the  interest  of  five  hundred 
dollars  at  six  per  cent.  When  we  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  on  most 
farms  the  actual  capital  invested  in  poultry  is  very  small,  the  profit  from  the 
hens  is  usually  quite  large. 


The  egg  industry  of  the  United  States  is  still  growing.  Ten  years  ago  we  im- 
ported many  eggs  and  exported  few.  Now  the  exports  exceed  the  imports, 
but  there  is  room  for  still  greater  development.  There  need  be  no  fear  of 
over-production  of  poultry  and  eggs  in  the  near  future. 


Make  little  gullies  around  upper  side  of  coops  located  on  steep  slopes,  so  the 
rain  will  not  wash  into  them.     See  that  these  little  ditches  are  kept  clean. 


